Since When is Divorce So Cool?
by charley07
Summary: Tommy left three years ago and Jude's still suffering. Now, he is too. With some help from Tommy's younger sister, Spiederman, in wake of his recent divorce, is hoping to rekindle the romance. Will he find one of his own along the way?
1. Background Info

**So, folks, here's a little background information you'll need:**

1. Set 3 years after season two

2. Karma did win _Instant Star_ and did marry Spiederman, but they're in the process of divorcing (yeah, that's what everyone wants, I know)

3. Patsy died

4. Jude and Jamie never rekindled any relationship

5. Nic Quincy is Tommy's 22-year-old younger sister who is a socialite in Montreal (she's the Paris Hilton of Canada, but with class)

6. Tommy recently divorced his wife of a year and a half, Megan.

7. Tommy left Jude on their date but he never came back and they haven't spoken in three years

8. Georgia is back in charge of G-Major because Darius decided to expand and set up his new label in LA, not because of any wrong-doings with Portia and Angie

9. There was never any Hunter/Angie drama, but she could be mentioned later

**I hope you guys like it and I hope to have the first chapter up sometime in the next week.**

**Charley**


	2. Chapter 1

**Yay, first chapter. Luckily, I've been writing during my fourth period, so I'm able to upload it. Don't expect a second chapter for a while, until my laptop is fixed cause it's highly corrupted at the moment. Sorry. And I'm hoping to hve _Third Time's the Charm_ up and finished by the weekend, so look out for that.**

Jamie stood at the reception desk, waiting for Sadie, when a gorgeous brunette walked into G-Major on a Friday afternoon. "Can I help you?" he asked her.

The girl ignored him and walked into the lobby, looking around, a slight smirk plastered on her face. She wore purposely ripped jeans, a lemon yellow tunic, and her hair was long and wavy.

"Who is she?" Wally asked, joining Jamie to hand in some files from Georgia, who'd recently re-acquired the label. "She looks familiar."

"Very," Jamie agreed, walking towards her. "Hi, I'm Jamie. Are you looking for something?"

She turned to face him. "I'm looking for Spiederman?"

"Really?" Wally scoffed. "Down and depressed Spiederman?"

"Uhh, sure?" she shrugged.

Jamie hurried back over to the reception desk and spoke into the intercom. "Spiederman, you're wanted in the lobby."

A moment later, Spiederman shuffled slowly out of studio B, dragging his feet. "What do you want, Andrews?"

"He doesn't, I do," the girl explained.

Spiederman's face brightened. "Wow. You actually came."

"I wouldn't put in all the work I've already put in and then give up," she told him wisely. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah," he nodded, leading her into an empty office. "This used to be your brothers."

Nic Quincy smiled. "I'm sure it was. There are no windows, the door locks immediately, and it's probably sound-proof. He's such a little recluse."

"He only ever let Jude in," Spiederman added. "Their private, little room."

"Okay," she breathed, settling in at the bare desk. "What did you figure out?"

"Jude's down," he told her. "So are Sadie and Kwest. Kyle's coming and Wally's still clearing it with his parents, because he's late on rent and they pay for everything else, but he'll probably be there, too. What about you?"

"Tommy's a little bit tougher," she admitted. "He's quote 'suffering' unquote still from the divorce, so he'll be last minute. But, don't worry, he'll be there."

Spiederman had stopped listening. Instead, he was staring off into space.

"Sorry," she apologized quietly. "I keep forgetting you're going through a divorce, too."

He shrugged. "Hey, it happens."

"No kidding," she muttered.

"Huh?" he asked.

Nic took a deep breath before changing her mind. "It's nothing, forget it."

"All right," he agreed, knowing not to push a girl into something she didn't want. "Well, as long as he eventually comes around, I think we're good to go, right?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Just have everyone on a plane to Savannah on Monday afternoon. Well, my plane, but whatever. You'll land at the airport there and be ushered into a rented black Range Rover and a Jeep Wrangler."

"Sweet," he smiled, leading her back into the lobby. "Oh, God."

Nic looked up to see that Spiederman's estranged wife, Karma, was stomping her foot as she spoke with Georgia and EJ. "Ahh, the ex."

"The ex," he nodded. "And I don't think I can avoid her."

"What do you mean you're not going to renew my contract?" Karma demanded. "I won _Instant Star_, just like Mason and Jude did!"

EJ nodded. "You're right, you did. But, unlike Jude and Mason, you don't sell. And you're getting us bad publicity with your divorce because you're seen as the bad guy."

"Bad guy?" Karma repeated. "How?"

"Well, we were given a TV show, complete with furnished mansion and whatnot, and you then chose to cheat on me with one of the cameramen in a closet," Spiederman spoke up. "That's maybe why you're getting the bad rep. Maybe, though," he added sarcastically. "Just maybe."

"No one invited you into this conversation, Vin," Karma snapped.

"Don't call him that!" a voice cried from studio A. "Only I can."

Nic spun to see Jude standing under the threshold, her hands on her hips. Her hair was limp and she wore a simple black t-shirt and old jeans. Even though she didn't know her personally, Nic could see that Jude wasn't her usual self because people just didn't look like that on a regular basis.

"Oh, the Princess of Darkness emerges," Karma smirked. "Looking good there, girl."

Suddenly, the tension in the room heightened. Nic heard quiet gasps and murmurs as Jude stepped forward into the lobby. For as bad as she looked, her eyes were on fire.

"Was that bad?" Nic whispered to Spiederman.

"Tommy used to call her 'girl,' and everyone, including Karma, knows that," he explained in a hushed tone. "We're about to see a Jude Harrison meltdown in five, four, three, two, one..."

"Don't you _ever_ call me that ever again!" Jude screamed. "You self-absorbed, lying, cheating, manipulative bitch!"

Instead of reacting, as everyone expected, Karma just laughed. And then, suddenly, she was crying.

"Uhh, what are you doing?" Kyle asked.

"I'm sorry!" Karma sobbed, turning to her estranged husband. "I'm sorry I cheated on you with that guy and I'm sorry I made a big deal of it to the press. I'm sorry I've been causing all these problems for you and that you're depressed. I'm just… sorry." She noticed Nic for the first time and her face became cloudy as she saw how close she stood to Spiederman. "Who are you?"

"A friend," Nic answered vaguely. looking around so it was hard to focus on her face. "Does it matter?"

"I don't like that you're standing so close to my husband," Karma admitted.

Spiederman sneered. "Your husband? Please, Karma, I'm not your husband anymore. I was just the guy who was stupid enough to let you trick me into a marriage a year ago. Now, I'm just the guy waiting for you to sign the papers."

"Then that's it?" Karma muttered, pulling a packet of papers from her Gucci tote bag. "Here."

He accepted the papers and scanned them. "Thanks."

"I can't force you to stay in a marriage you detest," she said quietly. "So, I guess that's that?'

"Yeah," he nodded. "Bye." He turned and headed back into studio B where he'd come from earlier.

"Can I see you in my office?" a familiar voice called to Nic from behind her.

"Uh-oh," she muttered, turning to come face-to-face with Georgia, who was standing between Portia and Kwest. "Hi, guys."

"Office, now!" Georgia barked, pointing to the large oak doors.

Nic hung her head and followed Portia into the office, flinching as Georgia slammed the door.

"Are you stupid?!" she roared. "Do you know how Jude would react if she knew who you were?"

"Calm down," Portia advised. "Your blood pressure was so high at your last visit to the doctor that you're rivaling my brother these days."

Georgia took a deep breath and sat at her desk, folding her hands. "Nic, I understand you're working with Spiederman to get Jude and Tommy to your houses in South Carolina and while I commend you for the effort, you'll only be making things worse."

"Yeah, cause Jude is looking so peachy these days," she muttered. "God, don't you guys think she deserves something? Even if she freaks out that Tommy ends up there, she'll be in Hilton Head! It's like, the greatest place on the planet."

Kwest smirked. "I've been there, Nic; it's not that great."

"It would've been if you hadn't gotten so sunburnt that you spent the weekend cooped up in the house, bathing in aloe," she shot back.

"Nic," Georgia sighed. "Getting off the Jude subject momentarily, let's focus on Spiederman. When he married Karma, he wasn't up for getting divorced or having it annulled, but then she cheated and he had to go against something he's always stood for so strongly. To make a long story short, he's a mess."

"Okay?" Nic said in confusion. "That pertains to me how?"

Portia smiled. "Nic, you are this gorgeous socialite who's kinda waltzing into his life when he's vulnerable right now and that's worrisome."

"I'm not here to take advantage of him," Nic explained. "I'm here to get Jude and Tommy back together so my brother comes back to Toronto and leaves Montreal to me."

"I told you," Kwest smirked. "Spiederman's not really Nic's type, anyways."

"He wasn't Karma's either," Portia pointed out. "And look what happened to them."

"Regardless of why I'm here, it's not like Jude knows who I am and I'm not out in the lobby, dancing around, trying to get her to figure it out," Nic told them. "Tommy's my brother, and I love him, so I just want him to be happy. He hasn't been happy since before he left here three years ago."

Georgia stared at her. "Nic, he was married."

"Yeah, and they're now divorced," Nic nodded. "You know the story."

Kwest shook his head. "All we know is that he's divorced."

Nic started laughing. "Wait, you don't know the reason they're divorced?" They remained quite. "He called her 'Jude.'"

"And she divorced him?" Portia wondered. "It took him ignoring me and a tryst with Angie for me to do it."

"No, no, no," Nic shook her head. "He called her 'Jude'… in the act." She paused. "And her name is Megan."

Kwest couldn't contain his laughter longer than a second before he started cracking up. "Are you serious? He did that?"

"He did," Nic confirmed. "And she went crazy. That could've been because he's talked about Jude a lot over the years and Megan just got fed up, so she left him. It was, by far, the fastest divorce I've ever seen."

"You mean it didn't take eight months like someone else's I know?" Kwest smirked smugly. "Must've been weird to see that, huh?"

"Kwest," Nic sighed, closing her eyes. "Let's leave the past in the past, okay?"

"We'll leave the past wherever you want," Georgia cut in. "People make mistakes when they're young; sometimes they can handle, sometimes they need help."

Nic placed her hand on the door. "Can I go now? I've got arrangements to make before I leave on Sunday." She looked to Kwest. "And if you don't like it so much, why take a month off work to come?"

"And miss out on the biggest reunion in G-Major history?" he scoffed, making his way past her and out the door. "Please. I'll be there," he called over his shoulder.


	3. Chapter 2

**I apologize, because I posted this story so long ago and it's been forever since anything new has been updated, but now that I've finished my trilogy, this story is now my focus. This chapter is kind of a filler, but it does explain why Tommy left, a little bit about Nic, and them getting to Hilton Head. If you don't know what Hilton Head is, it's pretty much the greatest place on the planet! We vacation there every year. In fact, last year while there, I wrote a lot of _The Comeback_. Anyways, here's the second chapter and even though nothing exciting really happens, chapter three should be good and up in a couple of days, hopefully.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

Tommy stood at the window in his bedroom of his Montreal penthouse, looking out at the rain that was falling. Rain definitely seemed fitting of his mood lately, but he was praying for the sun to break through.

"Would you please get out of your house?" Nic begged, letting herself into the room. "I'm leaving for Hilton Head in the morning and you should come."

"Do you ever knock?" he grumbled, closing the blinds. "And if I've told you once in the last three months, I've told you a million times- I am not going to Hilton Head!"

"Okay, Squinty," she started, using a nickname she'd heard from Spiederman, "calm down."

"What did you call me?" he demanded.

Nic began to panic, but she'd always learned to think on her feet. "Well, when you get mad, your face gets all squinty, duh. Anyways, I hate to get all brutally honest on you here, bro, but your marriage is officially over and you need to move on. You didn't love Megan, anyways."

"Yes, I did," he told her. "Why else would I have married her?"

"Because she could've passed for Jude Harrison's stunt double and you're still in love with _her_," Nic answered.

"I am not!" he denied. "I haven't seen or heard from Jude in three years."

Nic rolled her eyes. "Tommy, you called Megan 'Jude' while you two were having sex. Either you still love the girl or you had the Beatles stuck in your head. In this case, I'm going with the first option."

"Nic," he groaned, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "Let it go. I don't need a vacation; I need my life back."

"Then go get it," Nic shrugged, falling onto his bed. "How hard would it be for you to go to Toronto, tell Georgia you want your job back, and fall into your little cat-and-mouse game with Jude again?"

He shook his head tiredly. "It wasn't like that." He turned to face her. "Yes, fine, I loved Jude. And for a while after I left, I still did. Now, though, I've moved on and I'm sure she has, too."

"You have no idea," Nic mumbled, just quiet enough so he couldn't hear her. "Fine, don't go on vacation for yourself then. Go for me so I don't have to invite one of my stupid so-called friends."

"I hate it when you do this," he finally consented.

"Do what?" she wondered, even though she knew.

"Guilt me into horrible ideas because you turn on your ridiculous whine," he explained, knowing she knew what he meant. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning at 9:30," she smirked. "I already booked your seat."

He scoffed and led her down the hall to his kitchen. "I'm not surprised." He opened the refrigerator. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, Toronto always tires me out," she yawned, hopping onto a stool at his bar. "Could you make tourtière?"

"Oh, sure," he joked. "Do I look like Tallie?" he asked, referring to their childhood family cook. "What about taco salad?"

"All right," she sighed. "So, I ran into Kwest when I was there," she told him.

Tommy looked up at her quickly. "Really? Did he say anything?"

"We had coffee," she lied. "He said G-Major was pretty much the same, Darius loves LA, and Jude still cries herself to sleep at night."

"She does?" he whispered. "Why?"

Nic rolled her eyes. "Oh, because she lost her favorite shoe laces. Duh, Tommy, why do you think? Maybe because the love of her life walked away from her three years ago and hasn't looked back since?"

"Not now," he warned her. "I already agreed to your stupid vacation, so don't ruin it by bringing up subjects you know absolutely nothing about."

Nic wanted to protest, but held her tongue. "Fine, I'll stop."

When dinner was finished, Tommy cleaned up his plate and went back to his bedroom. He knew he needed to pack, but instead, he sat down on his couch and picked up his phone. Dialing the familiar number was awkward, but he just needed to hear her voice, even if only momentarily.

"Hello?" Jude answered on her end. "Spied," she said to her guitarist in the background. "Let go of my foot, please."

Tommy couldn't find the nerve to respond.

"Hello?" she said again impatiently. "Who is this?" Then, it was as if she knew. "Please don't call me. I'm doing fine without you now." And before he could say anything, she hung up.

"Hey, Tommy?!" Nic called into his room. "I'm going back to my house, so I'll meet you at the airport at 8:45 in the AM, okay?"

"Yeah!" he yelled out. "Bye!"

As soon as Nic was outside on the street, she pulled her Sidekick from her Coach tote bag and dialed Spiederman.

"Yeah?" he picked up.

"Tommy is a go-go," she reported. "We'll get there around tomorrow at 1:00, pick up my Ferrari, and be at the house we're staying at by 2:15. When he's sleeping, or out running, I'll make sure everything is set up for you guys on Monday."

"Nice!" he cried. "So, I gave my lawyer the divorce papers today and on Monday at 7:00 AM, it'll be finalized."

Nic sympathized. "I'm sorry it had to happen this way, Spiederman."

"You can call me just Spied," he offered. "Most people do."

"Oh," she nodded. "Well, _Spied_, I'm sorry you're divorced now, especially since it wasn't something you ever wanted."

His end was momentarily silent. "Call me crazy, but I believe in true love and that there's one person for everyone and apparently, Karma wasn't that one person for me. Besides, she and Jude don't get along and Jude's been my number one girl for almost five years now, so I couldn't handle their fighting anymore."

"Yeah, fighting of the spouse and best friend is not so good," she admitted softly.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Did Tommy's wife and Kwest not get along?"

Nic took a deep breath. Since day one, Spiederman had been honest with her and it was her turn to be honest with him. "No, actually, my husband and Tommy never got along."

"You were married?" he said in disbelief. "Really?"

"Married and divorced at 19," she confirmed. "I married him in February, we were separated by April, and it took eight months, but our divorce was finalized in December."

"That was three years ago," he breathed. "You're the reason Tommy left, aren't you?"

Nic sighed. "Uhh, yeah, that was me. I never intended for him to be here as long as he was, though. See, our parents don't really parent us anymore now that we're adults, so they live in a chateau in Paris and only come around for birthdays and holidays and during the divorce, my ex-husband was causing multiple problems for me. At 19, I couldn't handle them by myself, so as always, Tommy came to my rescue. I thought he'd call and say what was going on, but he didn't and three years later, he's still here."

"Wow," he murmured. "Jude's gonna hate you."

"Ugh, why?" she demanded. "I didn't force him to stay."

"No," he agreed, "but you made him leave and that's the worst part, especially since he left without a trace."

Nic looked up at her apartment building and walked inside, waving to Lenny, her longtime doorman. "Well, I'm at my place now, so I'll just meet you on Monday."

The following morning, Nic found Tommy waiting for her at their terminal, his face hidden by a pair of aviator sunglasses and a Boston Red Sox hat.

"You're not really a big fan of baseball, are you?" she teased, sitting down next to him in one of the plastic chairs. "Can you even name like, two players for Boston?"

He continued reading the book he was holding. "David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek. Would you like me to continue?"

"Okay, very funny," she smirked, pulling an old issue of _Rolling Stone_ from her bag. "So, aren't you excited? A month in Hilton Head, doing absolutely nothing?"

"I'll be doing some work," he admitted. "I can't just go down there for an entire month and do nothing, Nicole; I'm not you."

"Oh, funny guy," she scoffed. "As a matter of fact, I might do some work, too."

Tommy eyed his younger sister. "Nic, you're a freelance writer for various magazines, so you work on your own schedule."

"I know," she nodded. "That's why I said I _might_ do some work."

"When's the last time you were published?" he wondered as they were called to board their first-class seats. "Like, April?"

"Umm, yeah," she answered. "But I have a four-page article about growing up the privileged rich girl in next month's issue of _Seventeen_."

"Gee, that took what, ten minutes to write then?" he teased. "You loved being the poor little rich girl."

"Mm-hmm," she confirmed, "until it put me through an eight month divorce situation."

He looked at her. "You don't still think about him, do you?"

"Hell, no," she shook her head. "He's one part of my past I wish I could technologically wipe out forever, but until science can do that, I just pretend he never happened."

"Good," Tommy said contentedly. "Young people make mistakes, like you did, but we fixed it."

"Tommy," she whispered softly as they settled into their seats. "You could've gone back, you know?"

"No, I couldn't," he denied. "By the time I was finished helping you out, it had been eight months and I'd met Megan. Going back would have made things worse for everyone."

Their long plane ride was mostly quiet. Tommy read his book, Nic browsed her magazine, and they both listened to their iPods while vaguely watching the movie that was being shown, _I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry_.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now landing at the Savannah airport," the pilot came over the intercom. "Please make sure all seat belts are fastened and thank you for flying with Delta Airlines today."

"So, are we picking up your Ferrari?" Tommy assumed, leading her through the terminal. "Is it still at that garage?"

She nodded and as soon as they picked up all their luggage, they made their way outside to hail a taxi that would take them to her car.

"You know, I don't think all of our bags are going to fit," Tommy observed when they got to the sports car. "I mean, the trunk can hold a few, but that's about it."

Nic shrugged. "We'll make it work."

After ten minutes of organization, the brother and sister were on their way towards the island they'd spent every childhood summer on.

"God, I love this smell," Nic breathed, taking in the ocean scent as they drove through the small town. "It's so much nicer than the smell of Montreal."

"You mean you don't like the smell of exhaust and dead fish?" he joked.

Nic rolled her eyes. "Hardly."

Finally, after just over an hour in the car, they arrived at Shipyard Plantation, the gated community that housed their two houses, and drove until they reached Sea Pines Avenue, one of the only streets in Shipyard where the houses were owned year-round and not rented.

"Here we are," she smiled, looking up at the large white mansion she and Tommy would be staying in, while secretly checking out the one next-door. "For the next month, this will be home sweet home."


	4. Chapter 3

**So, this is the chapter where the story is really going to begin, and I hope everyone enjoys it. **

"So, how did you hear about this place again?" Jude wondered as Spiederman led their group through the Savannah airport, weaving in and out of people heading for their own flights. "I've never heard of Hilton Head in my life."

Spiederman shrugged. "I just figured we could all use a break and I was searching online and I found this great house down here, right on the beach. You'll love it, dude, I promise."

"Okay," she sighed, hiking up her purse. "Well, if it's an island, how are we supposed to get there?"

"There's a bridge," Kwest explained. Jude eyed him. "I, uhh, read about it in a travel magazine when Spied said this was where we were coming."

Wally found the luggage claim and led them to it. "Well, I'm excited. The last vacation I went on was our world tour last summer and that wasn't even a vacation."

"I just want to get to the beach!" Sadie gushed. "Work on my tan, read a couple of books, and laugh at the teenage lifeguards who think I'm in their league."

Kwest eyed his girlfriend of over two years. "They better not be in your league."

"Okay, before you guys start into a cutesy fest, can we please go?" Jude wondered, picking up her bags. "I'm tired, want to take a nap, and then work on some new songs."

"Sure," Spiederman nodded. "I, umm, set it up for us to rent a Range Rover and a Jeep. Sadie, Kwest, and Jude, you three can ride in the Range Rover and we'll take the Jeep."

When they got to the rental place, Spiederman began to panic. Nic hadn't given him any instructions on actually picking the cars up.

"Hi, can I help you?" the receptionist asked politely.

"I have a pick-up," he told her. "Under umm, Spiederman?"

She typed on her computer and slightly shook her head. "No, there's nothing here under that name."

"One second," he requested, pulling out his cell phone.

"Are you here?" Nic answered. "I'm at the beach."

"Great," he cut her off. "What are these cars under? It's not my name."

"Oh, sorry," she apologized quickly. "They're under my name; I forgot. Just tell them I sent you and you're my fiancé or something if they won't just let you have them."

Spiederman hung up and went back to the desk. "I apologize. My fiancé put them under her name. Try Quincy."

"Nicole?" the receptionist read. "A Range Rover and Jeep Wrangler?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Here you go," she said, handing him two sets of keys. "Enjoy your stay on Hilton Head and we'll see you next month."

"All right, let's go!" Spiederman called to his group, who were all eyeing the cars on the lot. "Spaces 123 and 76."

Jude walked to 76 and found the Range Rover. "Ooh, nice ride."

An hour and a half later, after slight traffic, they pulled into Shipyard and drove to Sea Pines Drive.

"Oh."

"My."

"God."

Wally, Kyle, and Sadie stared up at the massive bungalow-style house in awe.

"This is amazing," Sadie breathed.

Kwest, who'd stayed at the house next-door on his first visit, shrugged. "It's not bad; not bad at all."

"I love it," Jude admitted. "Spied, this was a great idea." She hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

"Anything," he told her. "So, there are four bedrooms. One master, one with a queen-sized bed, one with two twin beds, and another with bunk beds."

"Bunk beds!" Kyle and Wally cried, running inside.

"We'll take the queen-size," Kwest put in, taking Sadie's hand and following the boys.

Jude looked around. "You can take the master. This was your idea, after all."

"No!" Spiederman cried, remembering something Nic had told him. "You take it; you're the one who needs a vacation more than any of us."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Cause I don't mind the smaller room."

"Please," he scoffed. "You're a girl and girls need bigger rooms. I need a bed, drawer, and bathroom. All I brought was a couple shirts, a few pairs of shorts, something to swim in, and clean underwear. Plus, my guitar needs it's own bed."

"Idiot," she mumbled, walking up the porch steps and into the house.

"Dude, come check this out!" Wally yelled from the back deck. "We're right on the beach and you have to see the girls!"

Spiederman made his way through the large house and found his friends staring at the sprawling beach in front of them. Instantly, he recognized Nic, wearing a white string bikini, talking heatedly on her cell phone.

"Hey, don't you know her?" Kyle said, following Spiederman's gaze. "She came to visit you on Friday."

"What's going on?" Wally demanded. "It was weird enough that she just showed up at G, but now she's here?"

"All right," he sighed, "I'll tell you." He shut the sliding door to make sure no one could hear him. "That's Nic Quincy."

Kyle's mouth fell open. "Wait, Nic Quincy? As in, the Montreal socialite? As in, sister of He-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Named?"

"Wow, you watch too much _Harry Potter_," Spiederman joked. "Yes, she's Tommy's sister."

"Why do I all of a sudden get the feeling that this trip wasn't so out of nowhere now?" Wally murmured. "He's here, isn't he? Tommy's in Hilton Head."

"He is," Spiederman confirmed. "Right next-door, actually. See, I got a weird e-mail one night back in January from Nic, saying that Tommy was super screwed up from the divorce, but he'd been screwy since he left Jude, and we hatched this plan. The Quincy's, it turns out, are some super rich family and they own both of these houses."

"We're here so Tommy and Jude can hook back up, right?" Kyle caught on. "Dude, nice plan. I'm impressed."

"Thank you," Spiederman accepted smugly. "Not as dumb as everyone thinks, am I?"

Wally rolled his eyes. "Well, you are, but you have your moments."

"And I assume Jude knows nothing?" Kyle went on. "How is this supposed to work out?"

Spiederman shrugged and sat down. "No idea. Nic said she'd come up with a plan as long as I got everyone down here."

"And you trust that?" Wally laughed. "No offense to this Nic, cause I don't really know her, but she's a chick. Plans created by chicks are almost always bad."

"Then you don't know me," a voice said from below them. "And how sad for you cause I'm actually oodles of fun."

The three boys turned to see Nic standing on the sand, arms crossed, her face masked by large, circular sunglasses.

"You told them?" she said to Spiederman. "Way to go, Vincent."

"Ouch," Kyle breathed. "First name usage."

"Well, they noticed that I spotted you on the beach and I can't lie to the boys, so yes, I told them," he reported. "And they promise completely not to tell Kwest or Sadie, or especially Jude."

"Well, Kwest knows," she explained, walking up the steps. "When I was caught by Georgia on Friday, he was there and I had to tell. I've known him all my life and he can read me like a book. I'm not sure if he's told Sadie, but I'm guessing he hasn't, so she's still oblivious. Tommy's locked himself in the makeshift studio in the basement of our house, so we're safe cause he won't emerge until dinner or so."

Wally was eyeing her. "You're pretty hot."

"Don't go there," she advised, holding up a hand to keep him from continuing. "So, where's Jude?"

Spiederman pointed up to the deck above them. "In the master bedroom, as you requested."

"Good," she smiled. "See, Tommy's in the master at the other house, and I get the feeling they'll eventually both end up on their decks at the same time, setting the place for the perfect reunion."

"I don't know," Spiederman admitted. "I think we should ease her into seeing him again, not just spring Tommy on her."

"Trust me," Nic said confidently. "I know girls and I know my brother."

Wally smirked. "You don't know Jude."

Before Nic could respond, her cell phone rang. She groaned looking at the LCD screen. "Yes?"

"Who do you think she's talking to?" Kyle whispered. "Paris Hilton?"

Spiederman scoffed. "I doubt Nic's friends with her. And I'm sure it's just her mom or something."

"No!" Nic yelled. "If you set foot on my beach, I'll have you slammed with so many restraining orders, your lawyer will need lawyers."

"Wow, if I talked to my mom that way, I'd have been kicked out at birth," Kyle laughed. "She's brave."

"_Not_ my mother," Nic snapped, hanging up angrily. "Just an idiot I used to know."

"Oh," Spiederman nodded knowingly, guessing it was her ex-husband. "Well, the guys and I were going to do some exploring, if you'd like to join us?"

She shook her head. "I'm gonna go shower and make dinner. Let's get together tonight and discuss tomorrow's events. We're only here a month and I'm pretty sure it's gonna take Jude some time to warm up to Tommy again." With that, she turned and walked away and over to her and Tommy's house, disappearing into their kitchen.

"She single?" Wally wondered, leading the boys inside. "Cause me and Jess are on a break for the summer and I like options."

"I don't know," Spiederman replied, pulling a Red Bull from their fully-stocked refrigerator. Nic had done a good job setting them up nicely. "But she doesn't really seem to be your type."

Wally shoved him. "Why not?"

"She's a famous socialite," Kyle pointed out. "And yes, you're famous in the sense that you're the bass player for a popular band, but she dates writers and producers. Besides, you and Jessica are always breaking up and getting back together."

"That's true," Wally agreed. "And I invited her down for a weekend, so we'll see."

"Come on," Spiederman sighed. "Let's get outta here."

Later that night, Jude sat on the deck of her master bedroom, trying to write a new song. She'd grown tired of the songs she'd been writing for the last three years, all sad and depressing, so she was working on getting her spirits up. Unfortunately, after the phone call Saturday night, she was more confused than ever.

"Jude, you wanna go down to the beach and take a walk?" Sadie suggested, standing in the door frame of Jude's room. "Kwest, me, and the boys are heading over."

"No, thanks," Jude declined. "I think I'm gonna stay here and work on this."

Sadie frowned. She'd been hoping Jude would lighten up and join them. "Well, all right. If you need anything, we should be close enough for you to yell."

A few minutes later, Jude smiled as she watched her sister and their friends play around on the beach, splashing in the water. She wished she was down there, but something was still holding her back. Well, not something so much as _someone_, but she still wasn't ready to deal.

"Jude!" Spiederman yelled up at her. "Come on!"

"Not tonight!" she called back, noticing the girl standing next to him. "One day here, and he's already found a women."

"Not just any women, but my little sister," an eerily familiar voice said from the next house over.

Slowly, Jude turned her head to look. "Tommy?"


	5. Chapter 4

**So, Jude's reaction might not be as heated as you expect, but I hate making Jude and Tommy fight, so it's hard for me to make her mad at him. I did the best I could, so I hope you like it. And the next chapter will err more on the Nic/Spiederman love fest that's about to begin because later in the story, they get a little crazy. Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out why... As always, much love to the reviewers. You keep me going and make this story super easy to write. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

"We've been set-up, girl," Tommy explained softly, from his seat on the deck of his own bedroom. "My sister and Vin have been planning this for months."

Jude was in shock. "H-how do you know this?"

"Cause Nic, though she's done a good job over the last few months, lost her touch once we got here," he told her. "I had to use her computer cause she's got a more updated version of Excel and she left up her e-mail and I thought it was odd when I saw her inbox full of stuff from him. Naturally, I read a few and well, here we are."

"I don't know what to say," she mumbled, setting her journal aside. "Well, other than I plan on killing my guitarist."

Tommy laughed. "Not if I do first."

Jude stood up and began pacing. "This isn't right. This isn't how I was supposed to see you again. I was supposed to be happy; married, and happy. You were supposed to be depressed, old, and fat."

"Oh, thanks," he said dryly.

"Well, what did you expect?" she cried. "I mean, we had a date, an actual date, and you just left, Tommy! No goodbye, no phone call, not even a lousy e-mail! What did you expect me to do? Fall into your arms and tell you I still love you? Cause if that's the case, all that hair gel is seeping into your brain."

"Jude, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I know that's not even close to enough to make up for what I did, but isn't it a start?"

"No!" she screamed. "A start would've been for you to not have left at all! And don't pretend like you feel _so_ horrible for it now! Not after you were married!"

Spiederman heard Jude screaming and looked up at the house. "Uh-oh."

"Is that… Tommy?" Sadie asked, shading her face with her hand. She turned to Nic. "I knew it! I knew you were Nic Quincy!"

Nic smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I figured you for one to read tabloids."

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Sadie demanded.

"Well, you see, Nic and Spied have been planning this vacation together for months," Kwest reported. Sadie gave him an odd look. "I've known Nic since she was 10 years old and still listening to Britney Spears."

"Still?" Nic repeated. "What makes you think I don't now?"

"Anyways," Kwest went on, "when she came to G-Major last week, I knew something was up, so we called her into Georgia's office and she spilled. I guess he told Wally and Kyle today and now, everyone knows."

Sadie was staring at Nic with fire in her eyes. "Why didn't he call her?"

"He did," Spiederman interrupted. "He called her Saturday night."

"He did?" Nic asked. "When?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. He called, and once she realized it was him, she hung up."

"Look, when Tommy left three years ago, I never planned on him staying with me forever," Nic said. "After he helped me through what I needed to get through, I honestly thought he'd go back to Toronto. But, by then, he'd met Megan and he didn't."

"Then it's your fault he left?" Sadie accused. "Huh. Everyone thinks you're the good socialite, staying away from the likes of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, but even you make mistakes."

Nic looked out at the water. "I actually like Nicole; Paris is the one I have a problem with."

"Shut up!" Sadie yelled at her. "My baby sister has been crying herself to sleep for three years because of you and all you can talk about are your stupid friends? You are just like Tommy- selfish and completely arrogant."

"You don't even know me," Nic pointed out. "So, before you start judging me, Receptionist Barbie, why don't you find the facts before pretending like you do?"

Jude was still pacing on her deck. "I hate you. I hate you so bad right now that lunch with Eden looks inviting."

"Jude, come on," he said in exasperation. "I'm trying here."

"No!" she screamed. "Trying would've been coming back after a few months, not coincidentally showing up in the same place three years later! I'm 20-years-old now, Tommy. I'm not the same school girl who loved you once upon a time."

Tommy closed his eyes. "I know that, girl. I've read magazines, I've bought your last two albums. They're good, too."

"I can't do this right now," she finally decided, pulling back her sliding door. "When the Brady Bunch returns from the beach, tell Spied I need to see him." And with that, she walked inside and slammed the door behind her.

"Way to go, Romeo," Nic teased, standing down below Tommy's deck.

"Nicole, do you remember that conversation we had just before I left to tour with Boyz Attack for the first time?" he asked her, not looking down.

She shrugged. "Yeah, there was something about me no longer having the right to meddle in your life."

"And by dragging me here, all while secretly getting Jude here too, what do you call that?" he wondered knowingly.

"Helping," she smirked. "Come on, Tommy, you'll thank me for this later."

"Doubt it," he mumbled. "If Jude didn't hate me before this, she'll definitely hate me now. Actually, I know she does."

"How?" Nic questioned. "You haven't seen, nor heard, from her in years."

"Oh, cause she only said it ten times in the ten minutes we spoke," he answered, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

Nic sighed. "Okay, so this plan probably wasn't laid out perfectly, but I'm trying here, Tommy. I just want you to be happy again, you know? You put up a lovely front during your marriage to Megan, but you weren't really happy. You were just looking for it in all the wrong places."

"I know," he said softly. "And even though I'm mad at you right now, I know you had good intentions. You're just gonna have to let me do things my way now that we're all here and in the know."

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll let you play by your rules just so long as they work. But the minute your methods begin to fail, which I'm sure they will, I get to take over in Operation: Jommy."

He rolled his eyes at the name. "Sure, Nic."

Spiederman nervously opened the door to Jude's room when he got back from the beach and prayed he'd live to see the sunrise.

"Hi," Jude greeted him brightly. "How was the beach?"

"Uhh, fine?" he replied, sitting down on the suede couch. "How'd the writing go?"

"It started out good," she admitted. "Then, I was watching you guys and I made a comment to myself and to my surprise, it was answered. Knowing the voice sounded familiar, I looked over and guess who it was?"

He bit his lip. "Kurt Cobain?"

"I wish," she grumbled, losing the pleasantness. "No, unfortunately, it was the one guy you know I don't want to see ever again. What's more is that, you helped set up the little reunion behind my back. Tell me, what kind of best friend does that?"

"Not a good one," he murmured. "I'm sorry, dude, but when she mysteriously e-mailed me in January, saying she was tired of him moping around her, and wanted to get you two together, I had to volunteer to help."

"No," she shook her head, "you didn't. Remember that song I wrote, 'Over-Rated?' Well, just cause someone tells you it's cool, doesn't mean you have to do it."

"I know the song, Jude," he said dryly. "I perform it all the time. And I also did it because you're unhappy and I hate to see you unhappy. You're my best friend and it makes me sad to see you so low. As much as I hate to admit this, when you were with Squinty, you tended to err on the happy side. Usually."

Jude laughed at this. "Yeah, things weren't always so spectacular between him and me. But that's beside the point. Spied, it's been three years. Three years! I've put out two albums, toured the globe, and won a Grammy! And I've done it all without him, so why come back now?"

"He had nothing to do with this," he interrupted her. "Knowing him, he probably tried to tell you that and you ignored him, but he didn't. Anyways, this little operation has been strictly Nic and I for the last five months and she just got him to come as I did you."

"I get that you don't like seeing me unhappy, which I'll admit that I tend to be, but why him?" she wondered. "Why not find me a guy who's completely not Tommy?"

"Like I said," he shrugged. "When you and Tommy weren't fighting and you were close and getting along, I've never seen you happier. Not even when you dated me, which should've been the greatest day of your life, so begrudgingly, I went with Nic's plan."

"On a side note, before I continue my rant," she cut him off, "is there something going on between the two of you? I saw her working it in her short shorts and tank top down on the beach."

"No," he sighed. "Strictly platonic."

"Right," she smirked. "So, anyways, I don't think I'll be staying here the full month now, thank you, and you're free to go."

He shook his head. "I'm not going because you're not leaving, dude. I know I tend to let you do what you want because you're your own person and I can't stop you, but this time, I'm putting my foot down. Yes, you're mad that you're here and that he's here, but if you don't settle things now, once and for all, you'll eventually regret it one day and I'd hate to see that happen."

"What makes you think I'd ever want to reconcile with him?" she asked. "He just left me, Spied! He left," she whispered as her voice cracked and she began breaking down. "He left me and I lost it. How pathetic is that?"

"Hey," he said soothingly, pulling her into his arms. "Jude, what are you talking about? You're not pathetic."

"Yes, I am," she replied. "A guy I'd only known for two years leaves me one night and my entire life just blows up in my face? That's textbook definition of pathetic, Spied."

"Well, you loved him," he rationalized. "That's why you took it so hard, dude. I mean, you were completely in love with him and everyone knew it."

Jude was momentarily silent. "Yeah, that's true. I totally loved him and he totally ripped my heart out."

"Just stay," he begged her. "If not for a reconciliation, stay for me. We need this vacation, Jude, cause you know if you go back, Georgia will put you to work."

"Fine, I'll stay," she consented. "But I might not like it."

He stood up and walked to the door. "Yes, you will. I'll make you like it if I have to."

When Spiederman left, Jude walked back out onto her deck and sat down, picking up the journal she'd left out there.

"Still mad?" Tommy asked quietly from next-door. "Or can we talk?"

"Still mad, not talking," she answered. "I just want to work on some music on my own."

He leaned against the railing. "We work pretty well together, Jude."

"We _used_ to," she corrected him. "Three years later, I'm doing fine on my own."

"Come on," he pleaded. "I know that I have so much to make up to you, but don't freeze me out, girl. I mean, my life hasn't been real peachy for the last three years either."

Jude glanced up at him. "I know. I know all about Megan."

"Trust me," he said, "you don't."

"You guys had the picturesque wedding and the Fiji honeymoon," she recited. "And for a year and a half, she had more of you than I ever could've hoped for. Why you two divorced, I do not know, but it's none of my business."

"You," he told her. "We got divorced because of you."

Her jaw dropped slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"I talked about you all the time," he reported. "About how I missed working with you and how great your new music was, and how it killed me that I had nothing to do with it. Then, one night in bed, I did the unthinkable and called her 'Jude,' which she didn't take so well."

"You did that?" she whispered. "That's heinous."

"Yeah, she thought so, too," he chuckled lightly. "Two days later, I was served with divorce papers and two weeks after that, it was finalized."

Jude didn't know how to respond. Instead, she put her journal under her arm, turned around, and walked inside for the night, leaving Tommy to wish he'd never told her that.

**And now, some reviews would be just lovely.**


	6. Chapter 5

**I miss all the Spied/Nic interaction from my previous stories, so I had to start writing in their moments. This is a good one, I think, and Adventure Cove _is_ totally a tradition for me. Of course, I usually only go to HH for a week, not a month, so I go once, but I always go. And laser tag is pretty amazing. I have plans to get them all there sometime, including a few surprises. Anyways, on to the chapter.**

When Spiederman woke up the next morning, he found an empty house. Of course, it was 12:30, so he should have realized everyone would probably have plans on their first day. He found a note on the table in Jude's signature block writing.

_Spied- we all went out. Sadie and Kwest are at the beach, Wally and Kyle went 'cruising' for chicks, and I'm just around on one of the bikes in the shed. I'll probably be out until late afternoon just exploring, Sadie won't come in until her insides are cooked, and well, the boys just don't give up. Call if you need any of us. Jude._

He sighed, opened the fridge, pulled out a Red Bull, and walked out onto the balcony.

"Good morning, sunshine," Nic smirked from next-door. "You're just waking up and I've already put in two hours at the beach and another hour in the small gym over here. You, sir, are lazy."

"I'm a late sleeper," he admitted, hopping up onto the railing. "How do you get up so early?"

"Typically, I'm still sleeping," she laughed. "But I always feel like if I sleep the day away on vacation, I'm wasting it, so I usually wake up around 9:00 or so."

He shook his head and stretched. "Too early. Vacation is prime time for sleeping, so I do it. When I'm in Toronto, I always have to be at G-Major by like, 10:30, so I wake up on the early side."

"Ick," she shuddered. "You should get a job where you work on your own terms."

"Yes, well, not everyone has the opportunity to be a freelance writer who's so rich, you really don't have to work a day in your life," he told her. "Some of us have to work for our money."

"I'll ignore that comment and move on," she interrupted. "What are your plans for the day, Mr. Spiederman?"

He shrugged. "No idea. Jude's out on the town, Sadie and Kwest are on the beach, and Wally and Kyle are scoping the area for girls."

"Well, Tommy's on a conference call to Montreal, so why don't we go get some lunch and do a little Hilton Head tradition?" she suggested.

"What, sex on the beach?" he joked.

"You wish," she scoffed. "Be ready in fifteen minutes."

Twenty minutes later, Spiederman stood outside the two houses, waiting for Nic to meet him. When she finally emerged from her house, she said nothing and just climbed into her Ferrari, waiting for him to join her.

"Where are we going?" he asked as she pulled out of Shipyard.

"Adventure Cove," she answered. "You can't come to Hilton Head and not putt-putt at least three times while you're here, so we might as well get an early start. Later this month, we'll get the whole gang to come, but until Jude and Tommy aren't at each other's throats, it's just you and I."

They rode in mostly silence, listening to an old No Doubt CD. Spiederman kept trying to sneak glances at Nic, who wore white shorts and a blue silk tank top, but she always caught him.

"If you want to stare at me, buy an old _Seventeen_ magazine and rip out my picture," she teased.

"Oh, can I?" he said sarcastically. "Well, let me call their archives."

"You know, all kidding aside, you're a funny guy," she told him, pulling into the lot. "Not many people can make me laugh, but you do."

He shrugged. "Well, that could have something to do with the fact that you tend to guard yourself and are cynical."

"I am not!" she defended herself. "I'm realistic." She sighed as they walked inside. "Our parents aren't exactly the most doting and supportive, so we grew up on our own basically. My biggest role model is Tommy and his life hasn't been a picnic, so I tend to put up walls because that's all I know."

"Is that why you got divorced?" he wondered, unable to stop himself. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

"No, its okay," she assured him. "And no, that's not why. His name is Chris and we met in our junior year of high school. It only took me a few months to fall in love with him, or so I thought, and two and a half years later, we were married. Then, I realized he'd dated and married me for my money, which he was spending left and right. I served him the papers the same day he decided he 'deserved' a new Ducati."

"Wow," he breathed. "What a tool."

She laughed. "Yeah, to say it nicely. Anyways, he still calls every so often, like last night, trying to get me to see him again, swearing he's changed, but I don't buy it."

"You're probably better off without him," he said as he walked up to the desk to pay.

"Yeah, probably," she mused, smiling at him as he retreated away.

Half an hour later, on hole 12, Nic was beating Spiederman by eight and he was whining like a four-year-old.

"I don't play this as often as you do," he complained as she made another hole-in-one to his three strokes. "I've probably only played like, three times in my entire life."

She laughed. "Boo hoo, baby. Just think, if we were like, skateboarding, I wouldn't even be rolling."

"That's true," he agreed, stepping up to hole 13. "Okay, let's make a bet."

"All right," she nodded reluctantly. "What is it?"

Spiederman smirked. "If I make this shot in one try, you have to kiss me."

It was Nic's turn to smirk, as hole 13 was definitely one of the hardest and he wasn't doing so well. "Sure, all right. You get a hole-in-one, I kiss you. But, if you miss, in your next interview, you have to tell the world you lost to a girl at miniature golf."

"Fine," he said, shaking her hand. "You can even go first."

"Ooh, thanks," she smiled, setting her ball down. It took her two shots, but she made it quickly. "All right, cowboy, your turn."

He lined his ball evenly with the hole and stared down the line. If the ball went too far to the left, or too far to the right, it went into a two-foot ditch that took nearly four strokes to get out of. He took a deep breath, said a little prayer, closed his eyes, and hit it.

"Oh, my God," Nic muttered as the ball went straight into the hole. "You are one lucky SOB."

"Yes!" he cried. "Kiss me, Quincy."

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes as he made her way to him. "Come on." She leaned in to kiss him and while she'd only been planning on making it short and sweet, he deepened it and she didn't even mind.

When they got back to their two houses, everyone had returned and were sitting outside by the private pool they shared. Tommy, though, was still missing.

"I'm getting him out here," Nic declared. "And Jude, it's nice to meet you."

Jude eyed Nic wearily. "Yeah, same here."

"I'm not a bad person," Nic told her. "I just did what I needed to do to make my brother happy again."

"I know," Jude sighed. "I didn't mean to sound rude; it's just hard for me to be around Tommy again after so long."

Nic smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, I get it. If you don't want him to be around, he doesn't have to be."

"No, it's okay," Jude shrugged. "He's gonna be around for the next month so I might as well get used to it."

Nic turned and went back into her house, leaving everyone to talk about her as soon as she was gone.

"So, Spied, what did you two do today?" Wally asked suggestively. "Find a private beach somewhere?"

Spiederman sat down on one of the lounge chairs. "No. For your unnecessary information, we went and played mini-golf at Adventure Cove, which we're all going back to tomorrow for laser tag."

"Oh, mini-golf?" Kwest mused. "Is that what you young kids are calling it these days?"

"Shut up," Spiederman demanded. "She's a fun girl; I like her."

"Uh-huh," Jude giggled. "You like her, Jackass. As your best friend, I can vividly see it. I saw it one the beach last night and I saw it when you walked up with her and I definitely saw it when she went into her house."

He ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair. "It's complicated."

"Why?" Kyle questioned. "Because of Karma?"

"Because of Karma," Spiederman confirmed. "And Tommy, and Chris."

"Okay, I understand Karma and Tommy," Jude cut him off, "but who's Chris? Secret husband? Or a kid?"

He stared at her dryly. "Her ex-husband."

"Really?" Jude replied. "Recent?"

"Married and divorced at 19," Kwest reported. "High school boyfriend who eventually screwed her over by marrying her for the money."

"19," Jude repeated. "Isn't she like, 22 now?" Suddenly, she caught on to what they'd known since they all found out. "Nic's the reason Tommy left me, isn't she? She was getting divorced and he went to Montreal to save her, didn't he?"

Kwest nodded his head. "Yeah, that's it. Chris was making things very difficult for her, so Tommy, being the overly protective older brother that he is, came to her when her lawyer went after him. I don't know why he never came back, and neither does Nic for that matter, but he didn't. Instead, he married Megan and then divorced her."

"Apparently," Sadie spoke up, "it's the big thing to be married and divorced by 19 as a Quincy."

"We joke that's it's the only legal way to be one," Nic announced, re-joining them with Tommy behind her. "Of course, our parents are still married, but they were 19 when it happened."

Tommy looked down at Jude. "Can I sit or will you conspire to push me into the pool?"

"Just sit," she told him. "So, let's make plans as a group tomorrow."

"I already told them about laser tag," Spiederman said to Nic. "But it's obviously not good enough for them."

"I know!" Nic exclaimed. "Jet-skis!"

"I'm in," Wally agreed. "We did those last summer in Italy and it was pretty sweet."

Kyle yawned. "Me, too."

"We'll go," Sadie added, referring to her and Kwest. "I'm not driving, but I'll definitely ride one."

"Why not?" Jude shrugged. "I had fun in Italy, too."

Nic turned to her brother. "Well? Thomas, are you going to join us?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I hate those stupid things, Nic, and you know that."

"Just because you flipped one when we were kids doesn't mean you can't control one now," she rationalized. "I mean, you're a big boy now, Tommy. You even tie your own shoes."

"Don't be stupid," he warned her. "I guess I'll go."

"This should be interesting," Spiederman muttered to Kyle and Wally. "I'm feeling a pow-wow in my room tonight to discuss ways to get the two of them stuck on one jet-ski and stranded."

Kyle and Wally just looked at each other and nodded.

"I don't like the look of that," Jude spoke up from across the pool.

Spiederman just smiled. "You, dude, have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"That's what I'm afraid of," she murmured.

**Now, please review. And I apologize for any errors you might have faced last chapter; it's cause I did some re-working of the chapters to help me organize. Everything should be okay now, so click on that cute little button down on the left now.**


	7. Chapter 6

**This is definitely the easiest story for me to write so far, that's why the updates are so close together. I'm hoping to finish it before I head to college in August, but we'll see. ** **Those of you who read and review are amazing and those of you who are just reading, well, you're cool, too. One wouldn't hurt though, would it? Anyways, this chapter has more Jommy in it for everyone, but a little cliff-hanger at the end cause God knows I love those. Especially this one. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

When Nic woke up the following morning, she found her first thought to be about the kiss with Spiederman at Adventure Cove the previous day. He tasted a little bit like Red Bull and Stride, which she didn't mind cause it was her favorite brand of gum.

"Nicole!" Tommy yelled, storming into her room, breaking her thoughts. "Would you care to explain this?" He threw a tabloid onto her silk pink sheets.

She sat up and looked down.

_Has Spiederman found love again? Rock star seen kissing socialite Nic Quincy in Hilton Head, South Carolina. See page eight for more details._ It was capped off by a photo of their big kiss on hole 13.

"At least I looked good," she reasoned, throwing back her comforter. "And it's not a big deal, Tommy. We made a bet that if he made a hole-in-one, I'd kiss him. Obviously, he made the shot."

"Don't get involved with him," Tommy warned her. "The two divorcees? The press will be all over that."

"The press doesn't know I was married," Nic reminded him, looking out the window to the beach. "And the press can also kiss my toned ass."

He shook his head. "Don't be like, Nic. You've always been the good girl, so don't let your image be ruined by some punk in a rock band."

"A rock band you developed," she smirked. "Regardless of whether or not you like it that I kissed him, you do like Spiederman. You like Wally and Kyle, too. You told me you missed them and their idiocy once upon a time."

"I missed a lot of things," he admitted quietly. "But mostly I just missed the girl in the next house over, probably calculating ways to get out of today."

As predicted, Jude sat in the computer room, looking up probable illnesses on the internet. Everything she found was overused, completely impossible, or just stupid. Spiederman might not have been the brightest boy she knew, but even he wouldn't fall for infected eyelashes. Plus, Sadie had recently graduated from Toronto U. with a degree in business and minor in psychology so she could read people like Kyle read his _X-Men _comics.

"Don't even try it," Spiederman said, stepping into the room. "You're going and you'll like it, dude."

She turned off the desktop. "I was just uhh, checking the weather."

"Sure." He looked out the large window to an almost cloudless day. "You need a computer to tell you its 93 degrees, sunny and perfect bikini weather?"

"Oh, I'm definitely not wearing a bikini," she assured him. "Trust me."

"Maybe not," he interrupted her, "but she definitely is."

Jude walked around the desk and joined him at the window, following his gaze to Nic, who was standing on the Quincy's deck, stretching in a black string bikini, plastered with the Chanel logo. "Why don't you just ask her out?"

"Can't," he replied. "Her brother hates me, I've only been officially divorced for like, 48 hours, and there's the fact that I'm pretty sure I'm just the guy who helped get her brother out of her hair."

"Then let's just go get dressed," Jude muttered, leading him out of the room.

An hour later, everyone had convened at The Ski Shack, a rental place on the harbor at The Salty Dog, where Nic informed them they'd be eating dinner at once a week.

"All right, I talked to the guy, and I can only get six jet-skis," she announced, turning to face everyone. "Sadie said she doesn't want to drive one, so she can ride with Kwest, and I don't mind not driving one, so I'll ride with my brother."

"You can ride with me," Spiederman offered. "I'm smaller than Tommy so you'll have more room."

Nic shrugged. "Okay, I'll ride with you." She passed out keys with tags on them. "Just be back here within an hour and you can go as far out as the green buoys."

As everyone prepared to get ready, Nic pulled the band into a small circle.

"Okay, the guy who runs the place is the same guy who's been running it since I was a kid, so we're close," she whispered. "I had him get one of his guys to let most of the gas in Jude's ski out, so she's gonna break down. Tommy, of course, being the knight in shining armor he so wants to be, will have to rescue her and bring her back in."

"But how does that strand them?" Kyle wanted to know.

"She'll break down within ten minutes and none of us will be found," she went on. "And Jim, the owner, goes to lunch soon, so he won't be here and they can't leave the area without returning their keys, so it'll just be them for like, half an hour."

Wally grinned. "I apologize for saying girls couldn't plan things cause you are a genius."

"It's just from spending years torturing Tommy as a kid," she explained. "Okay, so are we ready?"

"Let's do this!" Kyle exclaimed, running to his jet-ski.

Jude started hers and pulled out of the harbor, following Kwest and Sadie straight out. Having rode one in Italy the previous summer, she knew how they should and shouldn't sound, so when it started shaking, she started worrying. Before she knew it, she'd completely stopped and Kwest and Sadie were too far ahead for her to get their attention. She looked around for Nic and the band, but they weren't even in her eyesight.

"Stopping isn't smart," Tommy told her, pulling up behind her. "Causes wrecks and whatnot."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not stopped on purpose here, Tommy. My jet-ski must've run out of gas or something."

"Nic," he groaned, catching on quickly. "Well, get on with me and I'll take you back in to tell Jim, who's at lunch for 30 minutes, that we left yours out here."

"They planned this, didn't they?" she assumed, climbing over to sit behind him. "They're good; sneaky and manipulative, but good."

"The best," he sighed as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she told him as he started again and went speeding back to the harbor.

"Well done, Nic," Spiederman congratulated her as they watched the feuding pair drive back to the rental place. "Your plan is working."

She smirked. "Duh. Now, come on, let's see what this baby can do!"

Once back at the harbor, Tommy helped Jude to sit up on the dock while he remained on the jet-ski, putting him at a distance.

"Why do you think they're working so hard to put us in awkward situations?" Jude whined. "What did we do to deserve this?"

He looked up at her. "You didn't do anything; you just suffered from what I did."

"That's true," she agreed. "I just don't understand why you affect me so much."

"Me either," he shook his head. "I don't deserve to have you care about me the way you do."

"Probably not," she said. "And yet, I still do, regardless of how much you don't seem to care."

"I care," he assured her. "I care enough to stay and try to make things right instead of running away, back to Montreal."

Jude looked away from him. "I can't just forget what you did, you know. I mean, I'm not ready to let you back in just yet."

"I can appreciate that," he told her. "But couldn't we try? I mean, you not talking to me is the worst."

"Worse than being divorced twice before the age of 30?" she teased. "You're giving Ross from _Friends_ a run for his money."

"Since when is divorce so cool anyways?" he asked. "I've done it twice, Nic's done it, so has Spied. Weird, huh?"

She laughed. "I hadn't really thought about it, but it is odd. Maybe I should find a guy down here, marry him, and then get divorced?"

"I don't recommend it," he replied. "The younger and more inexperienced you are, the more tedious the divorce process is."

"What was so bad about Nic's divorce that you had to leave?" she wondered. "I mean, I know it's her business and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'd like to know why you just left."

He hoisted himself up to the deck and settled down next to her. "Chris Gibbons is scum at the highest level. He played Nic for years, going on and on about how much he loved her, but he was just using her. Of course, he was good at it for a while, but he eventually lost it when he bought himself a new motorcycle cause he thought he just deserved it. So, Nic, who was fed up by that time, asked for a divorce. Naturally, being married to a girl worth $124 million dollars had gotten to his head and he decided he wasn't giving up that easily, so he put up a good fight. By the end of May, and the night of our date, he still wasn't backing down, so her lawyer, Harold, came for me to push along the process. Unfortunately, even with me there, it still took another seven months, but it happened."

"And you never came back because…."

"Didn't think I could," he admitted. "I figured you'd have moved on and hated me, so I was scared. Plus, I'd met Megan and we got along pretty well, so I stayed and pursued an ill-fated relationship with her."

Jude nodded. "I see. And could you explain your divorce again? Cause what you told me the other night just can't be right."

"It is," he confirmed. "We were in bed and I called her by your name and needless to say, we were legally separated and divorced within two weeks. As much as I wanted her to be enough, she still wasn't what I wanted her to be."

"What's that?" she asked nervously.

"You," he answered honestly. "She just wasn't you."

"I missed you," she whispered. "Even when I hated you most, I missed you more."

Tommy looked at her, giving her the look she knew was hers and only hers. "I really am sorry, girl."

"I know," she breathed, laying her head on his shoulder. "I know."

By the time Jim returned from his long lunch, the rest of the group had come back in and were waiting.

"We uhh, ran out of gas," Nic told Jim. "It's out in the water, right out there."

Tommy smirked. "Uh-huh. Jude's jet-ski just _ran_ out of gas. It's funny though, Jim, cause you've always been so good about filling them."

"Must've slipped my mind," Jim lied. "I'm getting older, Tom."

"Right," Tommy mused. "Well, it was nice to see you again."

Nic led the group back to their cars. "So, I was thinking we have a picnic on the beach tonight?"

"Sounds good," Sadie agreed. "Kwest can man the grill."

"We'll go shopping for supplies," Spiederman offered, referring to the band. "Paper plates and napkins and all that jazz."

"Cool," Nic said. "We actually have a beach grill in our basement, so that's all set. While you all shop, Jude and I can set up the beach."

As soon as they arrived back in Shipyard, the boys jumped into the Range Rover and headed to the grocery. Tommy went to help Kwest with the grill, Sadie took a shower, and Jude and Nic walked down to the beach with a plastic picnic table and table cloth.

"So, I should hate you for that little set-up today," Jude reported. "Lucky for you, it was almost worthwhile, so I'll let it slide."

"Thanks," Nic laughed. "So, did the two of you come to terms about anything?"

"We did," Jude told her. "He told me about leaving to come help you."

"Oh." Nic looked away. "I like to think of myself as strong and independent, so I pretend to think I did it all on my own."

"I understand," Jude assured her. "I kinda figured you to be the whole Kelly Clarkson-Miss Independent-kind of girl when we met. Trust me; I know what it's like to hate yourself for leaning on people."

Nic understood. "Yeah, Spiederman's told me that you kinda hate how you realized how much you relied on my brother after he left."

"He did, did he?" Jude chuckled. "Well, yeah, I did. Through pretty much everything when I was still settling into being the first Instant Star, Tommy was there for me. Yeah, we had some bad, no, scratch that, _horrible_ times, but he was still always there. And then, he just wasn't and I cracked."

"She looked exactly like you," Nic said quietly. "Megan, I mean. If you were in an action movie and needed a stunt double, she could've been it easily."

Jude cleared her throat. "Yeah, I've seen pictures."

"You have?" Nic replied. "How?"

"I used to sneak onto Kwest's computer and look at his emails from Tommy," Jude admitted. "I know it's bad, but I wanted to see him and try to figure out what she had that I obviously didn't."

Before Nic could say anything, Kwest and Tommy approached them, carrying the grill.

"This hasn't been used in years," Tommy observed, lifting the lid, "but it should be okay."

"Nic, let's go talk Sadie into baking some brownies," Kwest suggested. "She'll do it if a socialite persuades her."

"I don't want to," Nic denied.

"I'm not giving you a choice," Kwest explained, grabbing her arm and pulling her back towards the houses.

Jude rolled her eyes as the two of them walked away. "They sure like setting us up, don't they?"

"They do," Tommy agreed. "And they're so subtle about it."

Jude laughed. "Uh-huh. So, this is Hilton Head, huh?"

"This is it." Tommy shut the grill and stood next to her, staring out at the water. "Nic's favorite place in the world."

"What's yours?" Jude asked.

"Studio A, back at G," he answered instinctively. "Working with my favorite artist."

"Shay?" she teased. "No, I like studio A, too." She shivered. "I forget it gets cold on the water at night."

Tommy reached over and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into him. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. "It's not so bad."

"Aww," Nic squealed, watching them from the deck with Spiederman, Wally, and Kyle, who'd just returned. "Aren't they cute?"

"Oh, definitely," Wally said. "They should be on a Hallmark card."

Kyle nodded. "One of those ones that play music when you open it. Their song could be like, 'I Honestly Love You' or something equally cheesy."

"Puke," Nic gagged. "That's a horrible song."

"Well, sorry it's not Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake," Kyle apologized sarcastically. "Would uhh, 'Slave 4 U' be better?"

"It is a better song," she smirked. "Come on, let's go do this picnic."

"Nic Quincy, it is nice to see you," a male voice said from the side yard.

Nic looked over her shoulder and felt her blood freeze. "Chris?"

**And now, you're compelled to click on that little button to your bottom left. I know you are. Everyone's doing it.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Uh-oh, Chris is back. Ha. Did you really think he'd be mentioned as much as he was and then NOT show up? Please. Anyways, you'll finally start to see Nic a little more vulnerable and she's not even worried for herself. There are a few revelations towards the end that might make some people happy. And if you're not reading golfa chickie's 'Waiting For My Happy Ending,' you're crazy cause it's AMAZING! And reviewers, you're even more amazing.**

"Chris?" Wally repeated quietly. "Like, ex-husband Chris?"

"No, Chris from 'Nsync," Nic snapped angrily. "Yes, he's my ex-husband. What are you doing here?"

Chris joined them on the deck, allowing for Spiederman to size him up. As predicted, the guy reeked of douche bag. He wore a Ralph Lauren polo shirt with the collar popped, dark wash jeans, and flip-flops with manicured feet. His dark hair was cut short and styled and he had on designer sunglasses that only added to the gay-factor he was giving off.

"I missed you, sweetie," Chris told her, rubbing her bare arm. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I'd be happier to see all the money you swindled out of me once upon a time," she shot back coolly. "And this is private property, so you really should go."

He smirked. "I'm not staying. I just wanted to come by and let you know I was in town, so we should get together sometime this week or next."

"I don't think so," Nic shook her head. "Come on, guys, let's go down."

Chris grabbed Spiederman's arm and held him back as the group walked away. "Hold on a second, Cobain."

"I recommend you let me go," Spiederman warned. Even though he hated fighting, he could easily take the Ken doll in front of him.

"Stay away from her," Chris said with ice to his voice. "Nic Quincy made a mistake when she divorced me and I'm going to win her back to make her pay."

Spiederman made a face and pulled away. "Good luck with that." He gave a wave and walked down the steps, making sure Chris was gone before turning his back on him.

"Tommy, I didn't invite him here!" Nic was saying. "He just showed up."

"And how would he know where you were?" Tommy demanded. "I'll kill him. I'll find his seedy little motel and I'll kill him."

"Calm down," Jude advised, putting a hand on his arm. "Let Nic take care of herself for a change, Tommy. And she's always got the Dark Lord Spiederman to help."

Nic was now pacing. Pacing and talking to herself in French.

"What's she saying?" Sadie whispered to Tommy. "I do Italian."

"Me, too," he reminded her. "My French is bad and she's rapid-fire."

Jude watched in amazement as Nic threw her hands in the air and ignored them all. "It's like that scene in _The Parent Trap_."

"Nic!" Tommy yelled. "Would you stop ranting in French and look at me? Nothing is going to happen, all right? Chris is just trying to scare you but he has nothing on you. He signed a document during the divorce to never mention your marriage and if he goes against it, he owes you. What are you worried about?"

Nic stopped and looked at everyone as they stared back at her. For always being so calm, cool, and collected, the poor girl was a mess. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Tommy told her, pulling her into a hug. "I know you weren't expecting him to show up here, but you really have nothing to worry about."

Nic took a deep breath. "I'm not worried about me, actually." She glanced shyly at Spiederman. "I'm worried for you."

"Me?" he said skeptically. "Why?"

"Although Chris looks as scary as a teddy bear, he'll strike in the most bizarre ways and with that kiss from yesterday being public, he'll go for you," she explained. "I'm sure he, like the rest of the world, now thinks you and I are something and he's going to do whatever it takes to 'break us up' or whatever. And I'm not sure what he'll do to do it."

"Nic, I'm not scared of him," Spiederman told her. "Please don't freak yourself out by worrying about me."

She took a deep breath, wiped away a few stray tears, and sighed. "All right, sorry for the interruption. We can get on with our picnic now."

"Anyone up for some Euchre?" Tommy suggested half an hour later as they were seated around the table with their food.

"I will," Jude agreed. "But I'm no good."

"Then you have to be on Tommy's team and we'll play," Wally added, pointing to himself and Kyle. "How about we play for money?"

While the four of them discussed the terms of their game, Nic excused herself to take a walk.

"Want some company?" Spiederman asked her.

"Uhh, yeah," she answered.

They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, kind of bumping into each other purposely, just to touch, but they immediately would pull away.

"Can I ask a question?" he finally said.

"Sure," she nodded.

He took a deep breath. "Why do you care so much if he goes for me?"

"Well, to begin with, no one deserves to have to deal with Chris Gibbons," she explained quietly. "And secondly, I like you too much to put you in harm's way. I'd like to keep you around for the next month."

"Oh," he nodded, looking over at her. "Well, I'm not going anywhere."

"That's good," she smiled, edging closer to him. "Cause who else can I destroy at putt-putt if you're not around?"

"Oh, so we're joking now?" he mused, eyeing her suggestively.

Suddenly, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder before running into the ocean.

"Put me down!" she squealed. "Spied!"

People spread out on the beach, whether flying kites or just hanging out, smiled as they saw the young pair play in the water happily.

"That's sweet," an older woman said to her husband as they walked by. "They look like us at that age, dear."

"Yes," her husband confirmed, "they sure do."

Jude and Tommy watched from up the beach as Spiederman and Nic chased each other around.

"I think he really likes her," Jude noted. "Which is nice cause he's had such issues with Karma over the last year."

Tommy sighed. "Vin's a decent kid, but I'm not sure he's right for Nic. In fact, I'd prefer to just send her away to a convent."

"Oh, Tommy," Jude laughed. "Cut her some slack. Besides, Spied's too nice to even hurt an ant, so I wouldn't worry about her."

"And what about us?" he asked her softly.

"There isn't an 'us,' Tommy," she pointed out. "I've just gone from hating you to tolerating you so far."

He sighed and looked out at the water. "If I tell you something right now, do you promise not to freak out or hold it against me or throw it back in my face?"

"All right," she reluctantly agreed.

"I love you," he whispered, still not looking at her. "And not in the way I used to, where it was young and innocent, but I'm _in_ love with you. I just thought you should know."

Jude didn't respond. Instead, she turned away from him and headed back towards the picnic table, where Kwest was wowing Wally and Kyle with card tricks.

"What are you going to do about Chris?" Spiederman wondered later as he and Nic sat along the shore, still a few yards away from their group. "I mean, Tommy said he signed that confidentiality agreement, but will he stick to it?"

"Doubt it," she admitted. "But I don't really care about all of that. I just don't want him to hurt me, or you or any of them, anymore. I just wish he'd have never happened."

He wrapped an arm around her. "I'll protect you," he offered. "I am the Dark Lord Spiederman, after all."

"So I've heard," she laughed lightly. "What's that all about anyways?"

"Alter ego," he explained. "I created him in the 7th grade and he's been around ever since."

"Sounds like a good guy," she observed.

"He is a good guy," he assured her, "but he's an even better kisser."

And before Nic could ask any more questions, Spiederman was kissing her and this time, there was no bet involved.

"Aww," Sadie said, leaning her head on Kwest's shoulders as they all watched from afar. "Isn't that cute?"

"In all honesty, I think they make a decent couple," Kyle shrugged.

Jude nodded her head. "Yeah, they certainly do."

"Uh-oh, paparazzi at 8:00," Kwest pointed out. "Should we tell them?"

"No," Tommy answered, surprising them all. "Let them be happy for a night and they can deal with it in the morning."

Sadie looked at him in awe. "Really? Well, hells bells, maybe Tom Quincy is finally growing up."

"Yeah, maybe," he muttered, looking past her at Jude.

The night ended when a dog came running through the picnic area, terrorizing everything, so they packed up and went back to the houses.

"Does anyone wanna watch a movie?" Nic asked. "I'm thinking a little _Devil Wears Prada_ maybe?"

"Eww!" Spiederman complained. "No chick flicks!"

Nic rolled her eyes. "All right, since you're gonna be a four-year-old, how about _Jackass 2_? It's better than the first one."

"Sweet!" Kyle cried. "We met Steve-O and Chris Pontius at an MTV party last year and I was so star-struck."

Sadie yawned. "I'm not surprised. But, I'm gonna have to pass cause I'm wiped."

"Yeah, I'm out, too," Kwest put in. "But have fun."

Everyone settled onto various couches and chairs in the living room of Nic and Tommy's house while Nic set the movie up. Once it was in, she turned and sat down between Kyle and Spiederman on the couch.

"This is a great movie," Wally sighed. "I mean, what better way to start it than to put a sock on his guy and let a snake bite it? Seriously, that's cinematic genius."

"Agreed," Kyle said. "But it's better when they put the cobra in the truck with Bam and he starts crying."

"No!" Nic exclaimed. "That's mean! Bam's too cute to make cry."

Tommy scoffed. "You are such a girl."

"He's married, you know," Jude spoke up. "He had a TV show about it and everything."

"She's nice, too," Tommy added. "Met her at a charity thing in Vancouver last month."

Nic made a face. "Well, a girl can dream."

Halfway through the movie, the Spiederman boys were all snoring and Tommy was nodding off, so Jude and Nic found the opportunity to walk out to the deck.

"Tommy told me he loves me," Jude reported. "And I just walked away from him."

"What?" Nic shrieked. "Tommy is like, the least open person I know and he finally finds the courage to tell you and you bolt? God, Jude, cut him some slack!"

"How can I just 'cut him some slack' after what he did?" Jude shot back angrily. "I'm sorry for taking this out on you but it doesn't seem to be getting through to him."

"It's all right," Nic murmured, hopping up onto the railing. "Look, Jude, I don't know you well enough to tell you what to do, but I know my brother well enough to tell you what to do to keep him from killing himself."

Jude stared at her. "And what should I do to prevent that?"

"Tell him you love him back," Nic stated simply, as if she were talking about the weather. "Duh."

"But I don't," Jude shook her head.

"Right," Nic smirked. "And I don't completely hate my ex-husband. It seems to me that you love Tommy like an old lady loves orthopedic shoes."

Hiding a smile, Jude looked back into the house and saw that Tommy has disappeared. "I think he went to bed."

"Up the stairs, third door on the right," Nic directed her. "I'm sure he won't mind some company."

"Stop," Jude warned. "The only place I'll be sleeping during this vacation is my bed."

"Well, he knows that bed, too," Nic joked. "That was our favorite house when we were really little cause the basement has a slide from the steps to the TV room."

"Yeah, the boys found it last night at about midnight," Jude mumbled. "Kept me from sleeping."

Nic glanced down the beach at a bonfire taking place. "I know you don't want to talk about Tommy anymore, but do you know how much it will help to get it off your chest, even if only to one person?"

Tommy, who was secretly sitting on his balcony, leaned forward, waiting for Jude's response.

"Dude," Spiederman said, pulling back the sliding door. "The movie ended and I don't know how to turn it off."

"Shh!" Tommy said hurriedly. "Get out here and shut the door!"

"It's just complicated," Jude sighed. "I can honestly say that before he left, yes, I was in love with him. But three years, and one broken heart later, I'm not so sure. It's like, my head is telling me that if I let him back in, I'm setting myself up for regret all over again, but my heart, being the stubborn organ that it is, is fighting back, telling me I'll regret it far more if I don't explore things with him now that he's ready."

"Whoa," Spiederman breathed from his spot laying on the cool concrete above them. "She definitely loves you, dude."

Tommy didn't respond.

"All I'm gonna say about it now is I highly recommend you not spend your entire vacation fighting yourself over it," Nic advised. "Hilton Head is too much fun and has too much to do to worry about how you feel about Tommy. You know how you feel, Jude, you just have to tell him, whether it's good or bad."

"Speaking of feelings for boys," Jude interrupted, "what's going on with you and my guitarist?"

"No comment," Nic laughed. "No, I don't know."

"We all saw you kissing him on the beach," Jude reported.

Nic blushed. "Oh, yeah? Well, I like him, but now that Chris is here, I'm afraid to get involved because Chris will stop at nothing to get what he wants and he wants revenge on me. Spied could just be a road block to getting there."

"But you like him?" Jude said.

"Yeah, I do," Nic admitted. "He is _so_ not my type and I actually like him."

Jude looked up above them. "Hear that, Spied?! She likes you!"

"How'd you know I was up here?" Spiederman called down.

"I heard you open the door and only you would have the nerve to spy on two girls," she explained.

"Oh," he replied sheepishly. "Sorry," he apologized.

"Just go to bed and don't wake Tommy on your way in," Jude told him. "He sleeps like a bear, so that shouldn't be a problem, just be careful."

Spiederman looked at Tommy with wide eyes and led him back inside. "She had no idea you were out there! And to think, only _I _would spy on girls and I wasn't even out there to spy."

Tommy sat down on his bed. "I'm too respectable to spy, or so they think."

"That's lame," Spiederman muttered, going to the door. "Well, see you in the morning, Squinty. And no dirty dreams about Jude, cause she is my best friend, after all."

"Then the same goes for my sister," Tommy called as Spiederman left the room. "Or I'll kill you."


	9. Chapter 8

**Let me apologize beforehand because I find this chapter a little boring. I had it planned out and then I got a different idea to happen next and I just wanted to end it. I guess it's kind of cute with them visiting the cemetery, but we'll see. Reviewers, I hope you make it through and keep reading. On a side note, my very good friend, Elsie03, just started an account and as soon as she gets home from vacation, she'll start posting her stuff. I've read it all and it's good. It's mostly one-shots, but they're very cute and sometimes unpredictable. You'll love her cause I do.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

Tommy woke up the next morning to find Nic sitting on the couch in his room, sipping a cup of coffee.

"What are you doing in here?" he yawned. "It's only 8:15."

"I know," she nodded. "I couldn't sleep, so I came in here and waited for you. I'm thinking we go to Butterfly today."

He sat up and stared at her. "Really? Are you sure you want to?"

"Tom," she said plainly. "We can't come to Hilton Head and not go; it's tradition."

"You're right," he agreed, getting out of bed. "Why don't we plan to leave at 10:00?"

Nic stood up and went to the door. "Should we tell everyone else?"

"I will," he told her. "You go get ready."

Twenty minutes later, after he'd finished his shower, Tommy walked to the other house and found Sadie and Kwest in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Good morning," she said sleepily. "Where are you going so early?"

"Butterfly Hill," he reported. "Nic and I will be gone until this afternoon, so don't make your plans around us."

"Butterfly Hill," Sadie repeated. "Why does that sound so familiar to me?" She paused. "Oh, my God, it's one of the wealthiest, uhh, cemeteries in the country!"

Tommy nodded awkwardly. "Our grandparents are buried there and since they raised us more than our parents did as kids, we like to go whenever we're here to visit."

"I'm sorry," Sadie apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject."

"It's all right," he assured her. "We should be back by 1:30-2:00, so if you have things you want to do before that, do them."

"Sure," Kwest said. "Take your time, man."

As Tommy pulled into the gated cemetery, he could feel Nic begin to tense up. Their maternal grandparents had parented them much more than their own parents as children and in the time since they'd passed away, their parents had become more distant, leaving them alone for the most part. Nic especially had a hard time because of her messy divorce, so being at Butterfly broke her heart every time.

"There it is," she breathed, nodding at Jack and Elise Boulaise's private mausoleum. "God, this is always so depressing."

"But we do it," he reminded her. "This is Honey and Pops here, Nic."

"I know," she sighed. She climbed out of her Ferrari, which Tommy had wanted to drive, carrying two large bouquets of tulips, her grandmother's favorite flower. "Can you remember where the names 'Honey' and 'Pops' even came from?"

"You," he answered. "You didn't like anything that sounded like your friends would say it, so you chose something different. Five-years-old and you already wanted to stand out."

"Innovation," she smiled, "is the key to success."

"Do you want to go first or me?" he wondered.

She looked down at her feet. "You can go."

"Okay," he nodded. "Are you just gonna wait at the car or walk around?"

"I'll walk," she shrugged, heading off in the opposite direction.

Tommy sat down on the steps to the building and sighed. "Man, do I wish you guys were still around or what? I am a mess. It's been a while since I've talked to you guys, so let me fill you in on my life over the last six years. Obviously, I gave up on my own music because Darius owned it and I was kind of on a downward spiral. Then, Georgia came along and offered me a job as a producer to work with her new artist who was the winner of some hokey talent show, _Instant Star_. She was 15 at the time and her name is Jude Harrison. At first, we didn't get along, but she warmed up to me and we hit it off. In fact, I fell in love with her. We played a little cat-and-mouse game, as Nic calls it, for a couple of years, but the night I was ready to take her on our first date, a _real_ date, an issue came up that I needed to take care of. I'll let her talk about that. Anyways, while I was with Nic, I met this girl, Megan, and we ended up getting married. I know, I know, two failed marriages before 30 doesn't look so good, but if I could get the girl I want now, the girl I've wanted all along, it would last. I would _make _it last. Do you remember Jude, the girl from three years ago? Yeah, it's her. We have our issues right now, but I think she's easing up on me and hopefully by the end of the month when we all go back to Canada, I'll be going home to Toronto." He sighed. "I guess that's it for now, but I love and miss you both."

Nic was sitting on a bench when Tommy found her.

"You done?" she asked quietly, pulling the petals off a flower she'd picked.

"Yeah," he answered, sitting down. "Go ahead; I'll be here."

She took a deep breath and walked to the mausoleum. "Hi, guys, it's me, Nic. I feel like I'm a horrible person for having not been here in a few years, but I've been busy and crazy and it's frustrating. So, since I last came, when I was 16, I graduated high school and did the whole college thing at McGill University, where I graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism, so I do freelance work for various magazines. Now I'm living in Montreal and things are finally beginning to look up. At 19, though, I lost my mind momentarily and got married. It last two months and like a child, I needed Tommy to come bail me out. It's now been three years but the ex, Chris, is around, trying to get revenge on me divorcing him for spending my money. Recently, I calculated a plan to get Tommy back with Jude, who I'm sure he told you about, and I did this with her best friend and lead guitarist, Vincent Spiederman, but we just call him 'Spied.' Anyways, I'm really starting to fall for him, which scares me, cause I don't want Chris going after him like I know he might. You both would've hated Chris cause he's so uppity, but Spiederman is so laid-back and down-to-earth that you, Honey, would especially adore him. I really miss you two. Mom and Dad are still in Paris, pretending like we don't exist, so that's nothing new to me and Tommy." She wiped away a few stray tears. "Most of the time, I feel like I'm old enough to do everything for myself like I don't need anyone, but I'm really grateful for Tommy. Even though I wish he would go back to Toronto, it's not to get him away from me; it's so he can be happy again, cause that's all I want for him. Yeah, he had issues when he was younger, but I look at the way he got himself out and I'm so proud to be his baby sister. That's weird, right? When we were kids, I was always so embarrassed having him keeping an eye on me all the time but now I totally appreciate him."

Tommy watched from the bench as Nic spoke with their grandparents. He sometimes felt a little morbid coming here, but he did it for her. Regardless of how they got along sometimes, he loved her more than anyone, even Jude, if he was being completely honest. It was just a different kind of love.

"Hey, are you ready?" she called to him. "We can get some lunch for everyone to take back!"

"Sure," he said, walking back to her. "What do you want to get?"

"Well, I know Spiederman likes Wendy's, Kyle likes anything, Wally prefers Taco Bell, Jude would want Arby's, Kwest only eats fast food from McDonald's, and I have no idea about Sadie," she reported.

Tommy's jaw dropped. "How do you know all of that?"

"I'm smart," she smirked, getting into the Ferrari. "I did go to Harvard of the North."

"Here we go again," he mumbled, pulling out of the cemetery. "People argue that Queen's University is more prestigious."

"Yes, they do," she confirmed. "And those people are also stupid."

"So, should we make multiple stops or just pick one and let everyone deal?" he wondered. "We're coming up on Wendy's."

She closed her eyes. "I'm tired, so just go to Wendy's. We can almost get anything there and they have the best hamburgers."

Twenty minutes and $55 later, they pulled up to the two houses and found everyone back around the pool.

"Food!" Wally yelled, grabbing for the bags. "Aww, Wendy's?"

"Yes!" Spiederman cheered. "Whichever one you picked this is the best."

Jude leaned over to Sadie. "Then I wonder who picked it?"

"You're welcome," Nic told him. "So, tonight, anything going on?"

"We're going shopping," Sadie announced, pointing to herself and Jude. "A place called Coligny Plaza?"

Nic nodded. "Cute shops, but I usually go for the mall."

"What's better about the mall?" Sadie wondered.

"Oh, man," Kwest groaned. "Here she goes, talking about shopping. We'll now be here all night."

"It's by Shelter Cove and there's a Saks Outlet and a Belk and Banana Republic. It's just really nice and open," Nic explained. "But Coligny is cute and original; there are lots of bathing suit shops and local t-shirt people."

Sadie turned to Jude. "Can we go to the mall?"

"Wherever you want," Jude shrugged. "I don't care."

"Well, what about you guys?" Nic asked everyone else. "Anything fun?"

"I was actually thinking we could play some football on the beach," Kwest spoke up. "If Nic plays, it'll be three-on-three."

"Yeah!" Nic cried. "Beach football!"

"Wait till we get back," Jude whined. "I wanna play but I promised Sadie."

Spiederman looked at his cell phone. "It is now 2:15; you have until 5:00 before we start without you and you have to wait until the second game."

"Let's go!" Jude said, jumping up and pulling on Sadie's arm.

Sadie scoffed as Jude hurried inside. "That poor, poor girl. So often she forgets I'm practically a certified shopper." She shook her head and followed after her younger sister.

"A 'certified shopper?'" Nic smirked. "My ass. When she spends $15,000 in two hours, _then_ she and I can talk."

**I know, I know, it wasn't great, but if you review, you'll be cool. Remember, everyone's doing it. Ha.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry, sorry, sorry for the super short chapter, but it serves its purpose and the end will, once again, leave you hanging. I'm excited about it though cause it's gonna amp up the story. As always, much gratitude for the reviewers, because you are the best I could ask for. Love.**

"Should I be worried about playing football with you?" Nic asked Spiederman as they made their way down to the beach with Wally and Kyle. "I mean, you look scrawny and useless, but I've learned over the years to not judge a book by its cover."

He shrugged. "I tend to be scrappy and if no one is watching, I cheat."

"Really?" she scoffed. "Well, isn't that good to know?"

"He's stealth about it," Wally told her. "You'd never know it was happening if he didn't cheer every time he got away with it."

Spiederman pushed Wally. "You'd cheer if you could do it, too."

"Cheaters never win," Nic spoke up. "And winners never cheat."

"Probably explains why he still never wins," Kyle joked. "It's that or because we always play someone better than us."

Kwest and Tommy were already at the spot they'd designated as their field, setting up boundaries.

"Are Jude and Sadie back yet?" Tommy asked, looking at his watch. "It's ten till 5:00 and then we're starting."

"Please," Nic smirked, straightening her tank top. "You wouldn't start and risk Jude getting mad at you. We'll wait all night for those two."

Kwest tossed the football up in the air. "Well, regardless of Sadie being my girlfriend, _I_ won't wait all night, so if they're not here in ten minutes, we're starting. Tom, you can play the hero and tell Jude you didn't stand a chance against the five of us."

"We're here!" Jude called, hurrying Sadie down the path to their area. "Sorry, but Sadie went crazy in Saks and spent more money than the royal family of Dubai has."

"Let's just play," Nic whined. "And we're playing tackle, yes?"

"Absolutely," Wally confirmed. "Kwest is going down."

"What are teams?" Sadie wondered.

Tommy sized everyone up. "Me, Sadie, Nic, and Wally against Jude, Kwest, Spied, and Kyle."

"That seems fair," Jude agreed. "But we get first possession."

"Fine," Sadie agreed, positioning herself across from Kwest. "You're going down, Taylor."

"Is that a threat?" he teased.

Spiederman, his team's quarterback, readied himself behind Kyle, the makeshift center. "Ready, set, hike!"

"Ahh!" Nic squealed, going after him and taking him down. "Yes! Sack!"

He looked up and smirked as she lay on top of him. "I'm the pick-up football king, Nicole. I did that on purpose to get here."

"Cheater," she whispered.

"All right, before you start having sex, could you get up so we can continue?" Tommy called over. "I'm getting a little sick."

The two of them stood and dusted themselves off before allowing Team SME to take their second down versus Team Quincy.

"This is boring," Sadie whined after an hour. "We're winning and I'm still having no fun."

"Because Barbies don't play sports," Nic muttered. She didn't have a probably with Sadie, but her whining was becoming irritatingly consistent. "So are we quitting?" she asked aloud. "Cause if we are, I'm going to go on a bike ride."

"We're done," Kwest sighed.

Ten minutes later, after washing off with a hose, Nic and Spiederman started down Sea Pines on their old school bikes, laughing and racing.

"I'll race you to Shelter Cove!" she yelled over her shoulder as she sped ahead of him.

"No fair!" he called up to her. "I don't know my way around."

"Then you'll have to take a loss and try to keep up!" she squealed.

Spiederman didn't mind following behind her on the 15-minute ride; she was, by far, the most gorgeous girl he'd ever been in contact with in his entire life. Her long, wavy hair was pulled into a loose braid on the side of her head and it was flying in the wind.

"I win!" she cheered upon arriving at their destination.

"You cheated," he corrected her. "If we were in Toronto, I could've beaten you anywhere blindfolded."

She rolled her eyes. "You are a smug sore loser, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so," he laughed, looking around. He caught his eye on something that unnerved him.

Nic followed his gaze and gasped slightly.

"Is that…?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," she nodded.

"And….?"

"Yeah."

"With….?"

"It is," she confirmed. "What in the hell is going on?"

Spiederman shrugged as they watched Chris help Karma and Megan Lords, who used to be Megan Quincy, out of a taxi.

"Uh-oh," they mumbled at the same time.

**And now, you know what to do.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Good news and bad news. The good news is that this is a good Jommy chapter. The bad news is that Nic and Spied don't exactly fare so nicely. I'm sorry in advance, but I like to think I know what I'm doing. And, I give my own explanation of Angie and Hunter to fit the story and there will be another tie-in later, I think. Anyways, love to the reviews because you know you guys are amazing.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. Ha, like you've never heard that before.**

"So you're telling me that Chris has brought Megan and Karma here?" Tommy asked Nic that night as everyone sat around the pool. "Why would he do that?"

Nic sighed. "To get to me."

"But if he's after you, why bring our ex-wives?" Spiederman wondered. "And why not Portia?"

"Because Tommy's on good terms with Portia," Nic explained. "Chris can't physically harm me, so he'll go after me the best way he can, and that's to manipulate everything around me, including the two people he thinks I care about most: you and my brother."

"So, now what?" Jude wondered. "I mean, Karma, as we from Toronto know, is ruthless, so she'll stop at nothing to get her man back."

"I don't know," Nic admitted softly. "I guess I'm gonna have to meet with the little bastard and see what he wants me to do to leave you all alone."

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Tommy warned. "What if he tries to attack you?"

"He's not a mass murderer," she said dryly. "He's just my ex-husband who misses my money."

Kwest, who'd been vaguely listening, turned to her. "Did he get nothing in the divorce?"

"Two million because we had a pre-nup," she reported. "Plus, our marriage only lasted two months before I filed."

"Well, that explains his motive," Kwest went on. "I mean, I only met the guy once, but he seemed to be pretty high-maintenance to me."

"Doesn't even begin to describe him," Nic mumbled. "If our sheets weren't at least 900 thread count, they weren't worthy of him. He didn't drink water unless it was this French label he couldn't read because he just _assumed_ it was better; it wasn't. The clothes he wore _had_ to be designer or they were immediately thrown out. God, why did I marry him?"

"Lack of intelligence in that department," Tommy answered. "You were young and thought he loved you, so you just did what any 19-year-old girl would do- you married him."

"Is that why Portia married you?" Wally teased. "She was dumb and believed you loved someone other than yourself?"

"He did love someone when he was married to Portia," Nic spoke up. "It just wasn't her."

Tommy looked at her. "Nic, not now."

"Why?" she questioned. "Someday, they're gonna know, and Kwest already does."

"Angie," Kwest nodded. "Yeah, I remember."

"Who's Angie?" Sadie wondered.

"Tommy's ex," Nic replied. "He was good friend with her older brother, Hunter, and that's how they met. Angie was the complete opposite of Portia, with long blonde hair and a personality so easy-going, it almost made you sick. Anyways, one night, after they'd been sneaking around together for a while, she wanted him to run away with her and leave Portia, and his possible solo career, behind. But, because he was young and stupid and fame-thirsty, he refused. He wanted to 'be a star,' he told her, and she was keeping him from that. So, she left him, took his car, sped away, and crashed into a tree. When the reports came back, the brakes had been slashed, but they'd been meant to kill Tommy, not Angie."

"Someone tried to kill you?" Jude breathed. "Who?"

"At first, we thought Darius and Portia because we found out that they knew what was going on," Tommy told them. "But after multiple confessions, we were convinced that though upset, they were innocent. It took months for the culprit to come out, but we eventually realized it had been Hunter."

"So Hunter killed his sister?" Kyle said, piecing it all together. "That's nuts."

Nic shook her head. "No, he'd meant to kill Tommy. See, Hunter knew Tommy would never give up fame for Angie and since Darius pretty much owned Tommy, he wasn't leaving with her. Since Angie was his only family, Hunter was going to make sure that if Tommy wasn't going to be with his sister, he wasn't going to be with anyone."

"Dang," Spiederman whistled. "We don't always get along, Squinty, but I'd never attempt to kill you."

"Thanks," Tommy smirked. "That means so much, Vin."

Later that night, Jude took a walk down to the beach and sat down with her journal. While she'd been in Hilton Head, she hadn't gotten much written and she was getting frustrated.

"Can I join you?" Tommy asked, standing over her.

"Sure," she shrugged. "I'm not doing anything, anyways."

He nodded at her journal. "It looks like you're working,"

"Attempting to," she muttered. "I'll start a verse and come up with a bridge and then get stuck on the chorus."

"Do you mind if I take a look?" he offered.

She handed him the notebook. "Good luck."

After a few minutes of looking over the song and playing it in his head, he took her pencil and started re-working a few things.

"Here," he finally said, handing it back to her. "How's that?"

Jude read over her new lyrics and started smiling. "It's good, it's really good."

"Another Harrison-Quincy hit," he joked.

"Yeah, there have been a few of those in the past, haven't there?" she grinned. "We used to make a good team, huh?"

He agreed. "I'm coming back to Toronto, you know? We can still be that good team."

"What makes you think Georgia will just give you your job back?" she asked him.

"Uhh, I'm the best," he reminded her smugly. "Why wouldn't she want me back?"

"Eww," she gagged, nudging him with her shoulder. "It's nice to know you're still the same Tommy."

"Wait until Megan comes around," he murmured. "The Tommy you know will run into hiding."

"Why?" she questioned. "I mean, why be someone you're not?"

He looked out at the water. "You don't know Megan Lords, that's why. I mean, when I met her, I was who I am, but it changed when we got married. And that's what happens in marriage, you have to conform to make it work, but I conformed about 85 percent while she only went 15 by listening to music I liked and she didn't."

"Sounds like a real winner," she laughed. "I can see why that one didn't last."

"Yeah, well, the conformity wasn't why I divorced her," he pointed out.

It was Jude's turn to look away. "Tommy, this is still hard for me to do this."

"Do what?" he replied.

"Sit here with you and talk like I'm still 17 and it's just another late night at G," she admitted. "That 17-year-old girl had to grow up a lot faster than she planned to."

"So did that 24-year-old guy," he put in. "Two marriages before 30 will do that for you."

Jude stood up and dusted herself off. "So, since you're like, old now, does that mean you don't have it in you to take a run down the beach?"

"I didn't say that," he said, standing up next to her. "Let's go!"

Jude took off and sped away from him, giving him a satisfying view of her backside.

"Isn't that Jude Harrison?" a teenage girl whispered to her friend. "What's she doing in Hilton Head?"

Her friend shrugged and continued watching. "And why is Tom Quincy chasing her?"

"Who cares?" the first girl said excitedly, taking pictures with her digital camera. "Jude Harrison and Tom Quincy are a tabloid gold mine, Sarah! Think of the money we can make off of this."

After running to the next lifeguard station and back, Jude and Tommy collapsed into a heap on the Quincy's strip of private beach.

"I've never run that much in my life," she huffed, trying to catch her breath. "I used to find crappy excuses in gym to get out of it."

"Yeah, athletics weren't exactly my thing either," he told her. "I mean, I only had to do them through grade seven, but it was still annoying."

Jude smiled. "You killed us at football."

"Yeah, but that's just from watching it for years," he answered. "Nic was always the athletic one in our family. She even started at McGill on a tennis scholarship."

"Nic went to McGill?" Jude asked. "That's an amazing school."

He nodded. "She's disgustingly smart and she knows how to use it. I just wish she'd do something more with her journalism degree. I mean, yeah, she doesn't need the money of a steady job, but writing an article every few months isn't good enough for her. I understand why she won't work for a newspaper, because she hates writing the news, but she could write a book; that's what she loves, creative writing. She won national contests in high school."

"Dang," Jude said. "That's impressive."

"I just wish she knew it," he muttered.

Nic sat at her laptop in the office of her and Tommy's house, playing on the internet, when her cell phone rang. She looked at the LCD screen of her Sidekick and cringed. "Hello?"

"Nic, baby," Chris' smooth voice came through. "Are you busy? I'd love to meet you for coffee."

"Am I busy?" she repeated vaguely. "Oh, you know what? I am. I have to go and re-fill the paper towels in the kitchen."

He groaned. "Nic, come on; how bad would it be to meet with me for half an hour, just to catch up?"

"30 minutes," she reluctantly agreed. "Meet me at the Hilton Head Diner in fifteen." She hung up and leaned back in her seat.

"Where are you going?" Spiederman asked her as she walked outside and unchained one of the bikes. "I thought we could watch a movie or something?"

"I'm gonna meet Chris," she reported. "I'll be back later and then we can."

He stared at her. "What are you meeting him for?"

"To get him to leave us alone," she replied. "I know, it sounds ridiculous, but maybe I can get through to him."

"Sure," he mumbled, walking back into his house.

Twenty minutes later, Nic sat in a booth at the diner, waiting impatiently for her ex-husband to show up.

"You're late," she pointed out dryly when he sat down a moment later. "And you're down to 23 minutes."

He rolled his eyes. "Let it go, Nic. Can't we just talk like two humans?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "Find me another human and I will. Until then, I'm lowering my standards with you." She sipped her cup of coffee. "Chris, what are you getting at by bringing Megan and Karma here?"

"Oh, you saw them?" he asked. "Well, I just figured they should know if their husbands are cheating on them."

Nic scoffed. "They're divorced now, Chris, so no one is cheating. And neither of them are in relationships."

"Really? You're not kissing that Spiederman guy all the time?" he implored. "I saw pictures of you two on three magazines this morning."

"Were they good?" she joked sarcastically. "Chris, there's nothing going on with me and Spiederman. I mean, yeah, he's a good guy, but I'm not looking for a relationship right now; I wasted to much time on your sorry ass to jump into anything yet."

The man at the table behind them grinned and took notes on his notepad.

"Just leave him, and my brother, out of this," she advised. "This is between you and me and there's no reason to involve them in our problems. We're divorced and that's that."

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll go tell Megan and Karma I made a mistake by bringing them here and I'll send them back to Canada."

"Yeah," she smirked. "Like I believe that."

When Nic got back to the houses, she let herself into the other house and found the SME boys watching re-runs of _Jackass_ on MTV.

"Hey," she said, sitting on the armrest of the couch. "Wanna watch that movie now?"

"Maybe later," he answered, keeping his attention on the TV. "This is a good episode."

Nic looked to Kyle, who just shrugged apologetically. "Well, all right. Can I join you guys?"

"Why don't you go watch a movie with Chris?" Spiederman sneered. "I'm sure he'd love your company."

"Oh," she whispered. "So that's what this is about? Spied, that stupid meeting was just that- a meeting. I told him to leave you and Tommy out of whatever he's doing to me. It meant nothing."

He sighed. "Nic, just go home."

"All right," she murmured, standing up. "Good night."

"Bye!" Kyle called as she left. "Dude, what is your problem? One of Canada's hottest socialite's is into you and as soon as her ex-husband, who brought your ex-wife here, comes along to ruin her life, you put up this front and act like you don't care about her."

Spiederman didn't answer.

Jude woke up the following morning and went down to breakfast and found Spiederman sitting at the kitchen table, a tabloid in front of him.

"Good morning," she greeted, pulling the orange juice from the fridge. "What are you reading?"

"I have two options," he answered. "I could read about your and Tommy's late night excursion on the beach, or Nic telling her ex-husband that I mean nothing to her."

Jude stopped with her hand midway to the glass cabinet. "What about me and Tommy?"

He cleared his throat. _"In Hilton Head, South Carolina, _Instant Star_ winner Jude Harrison and boy bander-turned-producer Tom Quincy were spotted on a local beach last night, sparking rumors once again that the relationship between the musically gifted pair is more than professional. Whether the rumors are true or not are unknown, but beachgoers say the duo did heat up the cool night."_

"Eww!" Jude squealed as the sliding door opened and Nic appeared.

"Hi," she said quietly, looking at Spiederman. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," he agreed brightly, giving Jude an uncomfortable feeling about what was happening next. "I mean, people who mean absolutely nothing to each other talk all the time, don't they?"

She bit her lip. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not talking," he answered. "Magazines do it for me." He threw the tabloid to her and hurried up the stairs.

_"In a breaking story, Montreal socialite Nic Quincy meets with an unknown in a Hilton Head diner late Thursday night, claiming he's her ex-husband," _she read sadly. _"When asked about her building relationship with Vincent Spiederman, she claims there's nothing there and he's just a good guy." _She set it aside. "Oh, man."

Jude frowned sympathetically. "And you only said all that to protect him, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Nic whispered, her voice cracking. "I know this sounds crazy, especially coming from me, but I think I'm falling in love with him, Jude."

"Oh, boy," Jude breathed. She took a deep breath. "Well, then go get dressed cause I guess we have a guitarist to win back."


	12. Chapter 11

**Remember that girl that no one likes, Karma? She's baaaaaaaaack! And in the most horrible, vicious, Karma-like way. And let me tell you, she's a bitch. Ha. Anyways, the chapter starts light with a little contest, but it ends not so nicely. And there is a cute Jommy moment. I know I'm lacking in those, but there will be one so big, you'll love me forever.  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. **

"Nic, this isn't going to work if you don't attempt to help," Sadie pointed out as she and Jude dragged Nic down to the beach later that morning. "If you sit there in that tunic all day, you'll never catch Spied's eye."

Nic sighed. "Sadie, Jude, I appreciate the effort, but it's not going to work."

"Spied likes nothing more than beautiful girls in bikinis, and you're his favorite he's ever seen, so shut up and do what we say," Jude demanded. "Take off the dang tunic."

"Why don't you ever just say what you mean?" Nic mumbled, pulling the Victoria's Secret tunic over her head. "I mean, you use the word 'dang' like you don't mean 'damn,' and that's dumb. You're just substituting a word to mean the same thing as another word."

"She's cranky when she's being scorned," Sadie whispered, settling onto her lounge chair. "She needs a drink."

Jude nodded. "Definitely."

Before either of them could get her something from the cooler, the SME boys approached with buckets of beach toys.

"Uhh, the five-year-olds called," Jude stated. "They want their sandcastle stuff back."

"Funny," Wally smirked. "No, we're going to build the greatest sandcastle of all time and make it into the local paper cause every day, they put in the best from the previous day and tomorrow, we're gonna be it."

Nic waved her hand to the area of sand next to her. "Be my guest, please."

"We don't need your approval," Spiederman said coolly.

"Well, it is _my_ beach, so you probably do, but since you're mad at me right now, I'll let that comment slide," she replied politely. "So, boys, back to the original subject, Tommy and I once created a four-story sandcastle, so good luck beating it."

"Are there pictures?" Kyle asked immediately.

Nic smirked. "There are, but let's do it this way: you guys build your castle, then I'll show photos of ours, and the girls can choose the winner."

"What are the terms?" Wally wondered. "We're tough negotiators."

"Let's see," she mused, looking over at Spiederman, who was plotting out their castle. "If ours wins, I get a dinner with him."

Spiederman looked up at this. "No way."

"Deal," Kyle ignored him, holding out his hand. "And if we win, you have to streak down the beach naked, wearing body paint of our names."

"Ha," she laughed. "All right, deal."

"You're crazy," Jude whispered. "They'll spend all day on that thing."

"Oh, one more thing," Nic spoke up. "Tommy and I did it in two hours, so that's how long you have." She winked and went back to her lounge chair much more confidant then she'd been when she'd first come outside.

"Why'd you tell her that I'd go to dinner with her?" Spiederman demanded, digging out sand for the moat. "I don't want that!"

Kyle eyed Wally. "Right. You don't want to make things better with the girl you're completely in love with."

"I am not!" Spiederman denied. "I just got divorced."

"We know," Wally nodded. "And you didn't love Karma, so it's not like you've immediately fallen out of love with one girl and fallen in love with another."

"I don't love Nic," Spiederman mumbled. "End of discussion, so let's just build a kick-ass sandcastle so I can avoid that dinner."

Two hours later, the three girls, who'd gone up to the pool to build suspense, returned with the pictures, ready to see what the boys had created.

"It looks good," Jude noted. "Real good."

Instead of a traditional sandcastle, they'd built a replica of G-Major, complete with a parking lot and roof furnace.

"Damn!" Jude cried. "Look, Nic, I can say what I mean."

"Funny," Nic muttered. "Looks good, boys; a little juvenile, but good."

"We'll be the judges of that," Sadie announced, taking the pictures from Nic's hands. "Jude, join me." She led her sister away from the group.

"We totally win," Wally stated plainly.

Nic looked at their creation again. "You know, you might've, but they'll still pick mine because they don't want to see me naked."

"Ooh, we didn't think of that," Kyle mumbled. "Crap."

After another minute of discussion, the Harrison girls re-joined them.

"After much consideration, we've come to a conclusion," Jude reported. "While both are almost immaculate, the mock-up of G-Major is more creative than the sandcastle, so Nic, even though we don't want to see you naked, they win."

"Yes!" Spiederman cheered, dancing around with his two friends. "No dinner for me!"

"Aww, is this a reunion party for me?" a familiar voice asked from behind them. "That's so sweet. I mean, I know things are bleak between Spiedy and me right now, but this makes things seem brighter."

Spiederman froze. He didn't need to turn around to know Karma had found them.

"Hi, Nic," another voice chimed in. "How are you?"

"Megan," Nic nodded curtly. "What are you two doing here?"

"We were just taking a walk and Karma said she spotted her husband and his friends, so we thought we'd come say hello," Megan explained. "Is your brother around?"

Nic noticed Jude tense up next to her. "No, he's out with Kwest right now and I don't know when they'll be around."

"Oh," Megan said, her stare settling on Jude. "So, we meet."

"I'm Jude," Jude introduced, pretending she knew nothing about what Megan was hinting. "It's nice to meet you. You're Tommy's ex-wife, right?"

Spiederman held up a hand to stop the conversation. "Wait a minute. Karma, I am not your husband."

"I know," Karma said. "It's just that 'ex-husband' sounds so ugly."

"It's supposed to be ugly!" he exclaimed. "We're divorced!"

"Okay, let's not fight," Nic suggested. "We're all friends here." She glanced at Spiederman. "Sort of."

Karma eyed her. "Friends, hmm? That's what you told me last week, but I saw the pictures in _Star_ this week." She smiled. "And also in _Us Weekly_ this morning. It's so sad you couldn't hold onto a relationship for more than a few days."

"There's no relationship," Spiederman said quietly. "There never was."

"You know," Kyle cut in, "this has been really lovely, but the six of us have a bet to fulfill, so if you two ladies don't mind, we should really get going."

Megan glared at Jude for another moment before turning back to Nic. "Please have your brother call me; I miss him."

"Mm-hmm," Nic nodded. "Sure, I'll be right on that."

Wally led everyone back up to the Quincy compound and stopped at the pool. "So, streaking?"

"Uhh, let's forget that for a minute and talk about what just happened," Jude said quickly. "Did I not get the stare down?"

"How about the fact that Karma calls me her husband still?!" Spiederman added. "She's clinically insane!"

"I don't even know the woman and she hates me!" Jude cried. "What is that?"

"We're divorced!" Spiederman yelled. "Our lawyers sealed the deal and it's over!"

Nic sat down next to Kyle on the deck of her house. "He still loves her, doesn't he?"

"It's hard to still love someone you never loved in the first place," Kyle replied. "I mean, yeah, they were technically married for two years, but they haven't been together since December and it's been rocky. I mean, he never planned on marrying her; it was a botched publicity stunt."

"No kidding?" Nic said in disbelief. "How'd that happen?"

Wally sat down on the other side of her. "Do you know of Paegan Smith?"

"Sure, the musician," she confirmed. "What about him?"

"He's a freak," Kyle explained. "A musical genius, but a freak. Anyways, he told Karma he'd 'marry' her and Spied to get her back into the limelight cause she was disappearing in Jude and Mason's shadows, and she got Spied to agree. What Paegan failed to mention was that he's actually ordained and they were legally married. Now, Spied's parents had an ugly divorce when we were kids, so he hates all that stuff and he refused to divorce her or have it annulled. It wasn't until she cheated on him with the cameraman on the set of their TV show that he knew he had to leave her."

"So, not only is she manipulative, but she's also a bitch," Nic noted. "Good to know."

Kyle laughed. "Yeah, that's one way of putting it."

"I cannot believe they're here!" Jude murmured. "I'll kill that Chris guy for bringing them here."

Spiederman stopped. "Chris." He turned to Nic. "You've spent time with him. Where is he?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "We met up at a diner and never talked about his living conditions for while he's here."

"Then get him on the damn phone and take us to him!" he demanded. "His ass is grass."

Nic stood up. "No."

"Excuse me?" he said. He was taken back, considering he figured she'd do whatever he asked at this point. "You mean you _won't_ help us kill him?"

"Chris is _my_ problem," she reminded them all. "For starters, it would be too suspicious if I call him to meet up, especially since those two probably told him they found you. And secondly, I need to deal with him on my own. Tommy got rid of him for me the first time and it's my turn, once and for all."

"You guys make him sound like some serial killer," Sadie spoke up. "He's just a guy."

"Ex-husbands are never just 'guys,' Sadie," Nic shook her head. "They become your worst enemies."

Jude sighed. "So, now what?"

"Now, we just sit around and wait for Cerberus to attack," Nic reported.

"Who?" Wally wanted to know.

Nic smirked. "Cerberus, the hound of Hades. Umm, you know Fluffy, in the first _Harry Potter_ movie? It's like that, but mythological."

"She went to McGill," Jude added, as if that explained why Nic knew so much.

"Geek!" Kyle fake sneezed.

"Yes, going to college is so geeky," Nic responded dryly. "How dare I?"

"Moving on," Spiederman interrupted loudly, "I'm not going to wait around forever to get this guy, Nic, so he better hurry or I'll find him without your help."

Soon after, the group dispersed and only Jude remained outside, sitting on the deck, people-watching the beach out in front of her.

"Having fun?" Tommy wondered, taking a seat next to her. "Nic said you got to meet Megan today."

Jude nodded. "I did. And let me tell you, she is a peach, really."

"Yeah, that's how many would describe her," he laughed. "I'm really sorry about that, Jude."

"Well, she has reason to hate me, apparently," Jude shrugged. "I mean, you did let go a Freudian Slip while in bed with her."

He chuckled. "Good point. So, what did you think of her?"

"I think Nic was right," she answered. "It was almost like looking in a mirror."

He made a face. "Yeah, that's what first got my attention."

"Are you sure it wasn't her dazzling personality?" she joked.

"Well, that and the fact that her clothes always matched and I wasn't used to seeing that after working with you for so long," he teased back. "You'd wear purple shirts, jeans, and green shoes; it was always a catastrophe."

"And the fact that it bothers you is a little weird," she grinned. "Of course, you spent more money on clothes than I did on guitars."

He sighed. "Presentation is key, Harrison."

"Seems as though Megan followed that rule," she noted. "She was on the beach and looked perfect."

"Trust me, she's not perfect," he assured her. "She's demanding and controlling and a little bit psychotic."

Jude didn't say anything. "Do you think you'll ever get married again? For real, this time?"

"I hope so," he whispered, looking at her. "I just have to get the right girl to agree."

"Yeah," she breathed. "One day, who knows? She just might."

Nic sat in the living room of her house, reading _The Great Gatsby_, listening as Spiederman skateboarded outside in the two driveways.

"Speidy, can we talk?" she heard Karma ask, climbing out of a car. "I'm not here to fight."

Spiederman kicked up his skateboard and sighed. "What do you want, Katherine?"

"You never call me that," she pointed out as he used her real first name.

"Cause you didn't like it and I didn't want to upset you," he told her. "Now, I just don't care anymore."

"I didn't come here to ruin your life," she explained. "That Chris guy just called and said Nic was using you and I didn't want to see that happening."

"Please!" he cried. "_You_ used me, Karma! You tricked me into the worst mistake of my life and then cheated on me."

Nic watched out the window as Karma began to cry. "Come on, Vin. I'm apologizing here and you won't even take two minutes to listen."

"I'm listening," he said quickly. "Just start talking."

"I know you don't want to hear this again, cause you don't care, but I am sorry for everything that's happened," she began. "And I obviously can't take it back, but I hate that I did it and I hope someday you can forgive me for it."

He looked at his ex-wife. "Forgiveness, someday, I can do, but I won't forget it."

"I didn't think so," she mumbled sadly. "I am sorry."

"I know," he said, pulling her into a hug. "It just takes time."

Nic scoffed, pushing the curtains aside to get a better view.

Karma saw this and took the opportunity to kiss Spiederman in plain sight. Nic felt her heart drop to her stomach.

"What are you doing?!" Spiederman yelled, pushing her away from him.

"We had an audience and I always put on a show," Karma answered, nodding up at the window, where Nic was still standing.

He paled. "You're a bitch, Katherine."

"Katherine's not a bitch," his ex smirked. "Karma's a bitch."


	13. Chapter 12

**I feel like I haven't updated in a while, but it hasn't been too long. I've just been working a lot, at a job I already hate more than my last one, so I feel like I never have time anymore. I don't work too much this week, though, so I'll for sure have at least one more chapter up, probably two. The boating adventure will be fun, don't you worry. And I've come up with part of the ending and I love it, so hopefully everyone is looking forward to it. Don't worry though, it's a while off. And to the reviews, much love, as always.**

Spiederman sat on the edge of the deck of their house, staring down to the beach where Nic was sitting on a lounge chair, typing on her laptop.

"Talk to her," Jude suggested, standing over him. "It won't kill you, Vin."

"Too much has happened," he murmured.

She rolled her eyes. "It's been a day. When you're forced into an awkward situation with her after three years, we'll talk."

"Yeah, how's all that going?" he asked. "You and Squinty still on rocky terms?"

"I don't know." She sat down next to him and let out a long sigh. "To be completely honest, I'd like for things to go back to normal, but I just don't think I can do it yet. To quote you, too much has happened."

He laughed. "Yeah, but you guys were in l-o-v-e when he left. Nic and I were just having fun when she went running back to her ex-husband."

"Or when you kissed your ex-wife right in front of her," she added. "And we weren't in love. _I _loved him, but it was unrequited."

"All right, Shakespeare," he teased. "No one uses that word."

"Nic would," Jude pointed out. "She is a brainiac, you know."

Spiederman was momentarily silent. "Do you believe in love at first sight? Or that you can fall in love with someone you don't even know?"

"Obviously not," she chuckled. "I hated Tommy when I first met him."

"Well, when I was e-mailing Nic, before we met, it was like talking to you or one of the guys because it was so easy," he explained. "She was really open and I could tell she wanted to help Tommy, and then you when I told her how depressed you were."

"Thanks," she scoffed. "You had her thinking I was a basket case."

"Yeah, well, I'm not one for lying," he joked. "I was still married, so I didn't think anything of it, but it was crazy how strongly I could feel for a girl I'd never even met."

"Three words: _you love her_." Jude paused. "And now three more words: _talk to her_."

He sighed. "You make it sound so easy and it's not, dude. It's like, I have the right to be mad because she told Chris I meant nothing to her, but she gets to be mad because she saw Karma kiss me."

Jude groaned. "You're killing me, Spied. Look, she told Chris that so he wouldn't go after you, you idiot. She told me this morning she's falling in love with you and if you can't see it, well, I feel sorry for you." She stood up and walked back into the house.

Nic was working on a new article about finding the perfect private school for a teenage girl when she felt someone standing behind her. "Tommy, leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad," Spiederman told her, settling into the sand next to her. "If I've worked up the courage to talk about it, we're going to."

"What, no date with Karma?" she asked coolly, closing the computer and putting it back in its bag. "Her lips are probably getting cold."

"Funny," he said dryly. "You know, I'm not the only one at fault here, Nic."

She gaped at him. "Please, do tell how meeting with my ex-husband to protect you by saying there's nothing going on between us is remotely like kissing your ex-wife?"

"You didn't have to meet with him!" he cried. "I told you I don't care if he comes after me. And if his big plan is to get Karma down here, whoop-dee-doo! She can't hurt me."

"I just didn't want to put you into an awkward situation," she explained. "I don't want to be around Chris, so why would you want to be around Karma? Or why would Tommy want Megan here?"

"Good point," he nodded. "Look, I'll admit that I've put up walls since all the crap with Karma, so I'm not ready to just let someone new in and now that I'm thinking about it, I'm cautious. Seeing that you were with Chris just unnerved me a little more than I thought it would, whether it was with good intention or not."

She smiled half-heartedly. "I can understand that, I guess. I mean, we're not together, so it shouldn't have bothered me so much to see you with Karma, but it did."

"I know this may sound weird, but I'm glad it did," he admitted. "It means you care and I was afraid you really didn't."

"I do," she assured him. "I absolutely care; probably more than you think."

"What's that mean?" he whispered.

Nic eyed him plainly. "It means I'm falling in love with you, Vincent, that's what."

"Really?" he whispered again. "Cause I don't do so well with liars and cheats."

She leaned down and kissed him. "I only lie to get ahead and lying to you won't do that for me."

"You wouldn't lie to get me to kiss you?" he murmured into the kiss.

"Would I really need to lie to get you to kiss me?" she teased, kissing him again. "If I'd have kissed you this morning, after you threw that tabloid at me, you would've given in and this fight would've ended then."

He laughed and pressed his forehead against hers. "You're so right."

"Duh," she smirked.

"Well, that's one couple down and one to go," Sadie mused from the window in her and Kwest's bedroom. "Now, about my sister and Tom. How can we get them together for a long period of time so they can talk?"

"Stick them on a dinghy and ship out to see?" he suggested.

"Let's stick to land here, Jack Sparrow," she teased. "Now, unfortunately, the two of us are not sneaky masterminds, so we're gonna have to recruit some help," she continued, looking back out the window at Nic and Spiederman, who were now both on the sand, playing a fifth grade hand game. "They're so lame."

"Let them be 11-years-old again," Kwest said.

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Spied's always an 11-year-old."

"Touché," Kwest laughed. "So, shall we go talk with them?"

"Round up the rest of the band, too," she nodded. "This could take all the conniving brainpower we're got."

Nic and Spiederman were finishing their game when Sadie, Kwest, Wally, and Kyle approached from the houses.

"Based on the look on Wally's face, you either need me to plan something or he's gotta go the bathroom," Spiederman stated. "And since he's out here and not at the toilet, I'm going with my first guess."

"And I'll bet it deals with Jude and Tommy?" Nic put in.

Sadie scoffed. "How'd you know?"

"Well, they're the only two not out here, so it's process of elimination," Nic replied. "So, since you came to us, we obviously need to create the plan."

"Exactly," Kwest confirmed. "And since the two of you obviously worked out your problems, you can work out theirs."

Spiederman started thinking about it. "We're gonna need a boat."

"A boat?" Kyle repeated. "And where will we get this boat?"

"We have one," Nic offered. "It's docked at Harbor Cove, and we rarely use it, but it's there."

"Nice!" Spiederman cried. "Now, how many rooms are on this boat?"

"A master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, and a living quarter, complete with full kitchen and bathroom," Nic reported. "It will suffice, I promise."

"Anyways, we'll somehow get Jude and Tommy 'stuck' in one of the rooms, preferably a smaller one, and we'll end up on the top deck, with no cell phone service, and won't realize they're missing for oh, say, 3 hours?"

Sadie squealed. "It's genius!"

"It's not that great of a plan," Wally murmured to Kyle. "Effective, but not squeal-worthy."

"Sadie's different," Kyle reminded his friend. "She likes pink and dolls and like, painting her nails."

"Boo," Wally whispered. "Girly stuff."

"So, shall I call the harbor master and tell him to expect us tomorrow morning?" Nic spoke up. "They like notice to prepare our departure."

Kwest nodded. "Yeah, do what you gotta do. No one has any plans for tomorrow, right?" Once everyone had shaken their heads, he grinned. "Good. Nic, let's do it."

The following morning, Jude was woken up by Spiederman jumping on her bed.

"What are you doing?" she yelled, throwing a pillow at him. "It's 10:00."

"We're going boating today!" he cheered happily. "Get up and get dressed. We're leaving at 11:00." With that, he jumped down and left the room.

Jude groaned and rolled out of bed, stumbling all the way to the bathroom. After a 15-minute shower, she put on her red string bikini, covered it with a pair of brown Bermuda shorts, a white tank top, and old flip-flops. She let her hair air dry and went downstairs to the kitchen, where everyone was waiting.

"Finally ready, Sleeping Beauty?" Sadie teased. "We've been waiting all morning."

"Ugh, Spied said I had until 11:00," Jude whined, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Besides, Nic and Tommy aren't here."

Kwest looked up from the local newspaper. "They already went to the marina to get things ready. I remember how to get there from when we were younger."

"Let me finish this and then we'll go," Jude yawned.

As everyone went out to load up the Range Rover, Jude and Spiederman remained in the kitchen, cleaning up.

"So, I saw you patch things up with Little Miss Montreal last night," she joked, unplugging the coffee maker. "Things okay?"

He nodded. "Better than. We're pretty much in love now."

"Now?" she scoffed. "Right, like you haven't been since you met her."

"Okay, but it's in the open now," he clarified. "We're gonna go full force with our relationship."

Jude eyed her best friend. "Does she know this?"

"Well, I think it's unspoken," he shrugged. "I won't take no for an answer either."

"You never do," she muttered. "Remember when I had to Boobgate issue with Karma? You guys would go around singing that ridiculous made-up song 'Life's a test, but you always do your best, exposing your right breast' all the time, even when I threatened to fire you all. 'No' is not in your vocabulary in any way, shape, or form. It gets annoying at times."

"You know how I do," he laughed. "You wanted lyrics and at the time, those seemed to describe you pretty well."

"Come on, you two!" Kyle yelled from outside. "We're leaving, with or without you!"

"Cool your jets, Bono," Jude told him, locking the door as she followed Spiederman out. "We're ready."

They rode the entire way listening to the SME boys sing some of the creative songs they'd made up over the years, including 'The Boob Song' and 'The Why Can't We Have Kwest Blues.'

"Here we are," Kwest announced, parking in a gravel parking lot along the ocean. "Harbor 12. It's called _The Nicola, _after their paternal grandmother. That's also where Nic got her name."

The group stood at the base of harbor 12, staring at the massive yacht in front of them. Nic and Tommy were standing on the top deck, he in hunter green board shorts and a white t-shirt and she in a navy blue bikini and white boy shorts, watching them take it all in.

"Let the games begin," Kyle whispered, following Spiederman and Wally onto the boat.


	14. Chapter 13

**Ooh, this is a long chapter for me. Yay. There's only good here, for both Jommy and what is now affectionately known as Nicerman. There wasn't much with the ex-spouses, but that's coming soon. Don't you worry. Like always, please review because then, I'll love you. If not, as long as you read it, I'll still like you a lot. And I'm super pumped to have broken 100 reviews already. I love you!  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. **

Nic, Jude, and Sadie were laying out on the front part of the yacht while the boys sat up near the wheel, drinking beer and joking around.

"What do you think they talk about when we're not around?" Sadie wondered, eyeing them behind her sunglasses. "Cars?"

"Music?" Jude put in. "Or food."

"Us," Nic stated. "They talk about us. Boys are as much of girls as girls are; they're just sneakier about it." She rolled over onto her back and stretched.

"Oh, my God," Spiederman groaned, watching from up above. "Squinty, I know she's your sister, and you don't want to hear this, but damn!"

Tommy eyed the younger guy. "Just this once, I'll let it slide."

"God, I love her," Spiederman gushed. "Seriously, I'm so in love with her."

Kyle laughed. "I'd love to say he's exaggerating, but he's not."

"And she loves him, too," Wally put in. "You should've heard him on the phone with her this morning, like he wasn't going to see her an hour later."

"He's so cute," Nic smiled, looking up at Spiederman from behind their sunglasses. "And sweet."

"I've never heard 'sweet' and 'Spiederman' used in the same sentence unless 'sweet' is used to describe something that's really cool," Sadie grinned. "You really like him, huh?"

"I love him," Nic corrected her. "That sounds ridiculous, especially after only a week, but I do. I'm in love with him."

Jude rolled her eyes. "It's so weird."

"Why?" Nic demanded.

"Just because he just got divorced, and you're divorced, and he's only 20 while you're only 22, and you guys already think you're so serious," Jude explained. "I'm not saying it won't be in a few months, but building a relationship takes time."

Nic smirked. "Well, whatever. I'm not waiting until I'm 30 to be married again."

"Again," Sadie laughed. "That sounds so funny from someone so young."

"You act like you're so old," Jude said dryly. "Sade, you'll be 23 in two months; that's not old."

"I didn't mean that I'm old and she's not," Sadie clarified. "I just meant that she's young and she's already been married and divorced once."

"Does it bother you that the press now knows you were married once?" Jude wondered. "I mean, you did so well at keeping it a secret before all this."

Nic shrugged. "I only did that to keep some privacy, but it's not a big deal. I made a mistake and people know I'm not perfect now."

"Hey, Nic!" Spiederman called down to her. "Can I talk to you inside?"

"Ooh," Jude teased as Nic stood up. "Put a sock on the doorknob."

Nic winked discreetly at Sadie. "Oh, trust me, I will."

"So, I'm thinking that before we lock up Tommy and Jude, you and I have a little fun," Spiederman suggested, once the two of them were inside the cabin.

"Oh, really?" she grinned, sitting down on the leather couch. "And what kind of fun are you looking for?"

He smirked and pulled her back up. "Fun that can't be out in the open."

"You're bad," she whispered, allowing him to lead her down the stairs to the master bedroom. "Good thing I like bad boys, huh?"

"Very good," he confirmed, locking the door behind him.

"You know, Nic and Spied have been missing for some time now," Sadie noted later after she and Jude had joined the boys. "Think they fell overboard?"

"Trust me, they do not want to be disturbed," Kyle spoke up. "They're _busy_."

Tommy covered his ears. "Ugh, that's my sister!"

"And my best friend/ex-boyfriend!" Jude added. "But who cares? They're quote 'in love' unquote, so let them do what they must."

"Let's just change the subject," Tommy demanded hastily. "It's gross."

"Actually, it's kinda cute," Sadie admitted. "I mean, it's how you should be when you first fall in love."

Tommy eyed Kwest. "Is that how you two were?"

"No comment," Kwest chuckled. "So, Wally, to change the subject, have you talked with Jessica lately?"

"Uhh, I called her yesterday, but she didn't answer, so I don't know what's going on," the bass played answered. "I never thought I'd say this, because she drives me so damn crazy all the time, but I miss her."

Jude pinched his cheeks. "After 20 years of thinking girls have cooties, little Wallace has finally grown up."

"And Jude's gonna have her fingers bitten off," he replied. "Maybe you could call her, actually? You guys were friends in high school."

"I'll see what I can do," Jude agreed. "Jess is a nice girl and I didn't know many of those at Carson Hill."

Kyle laughed. "That's because everyone started hating you halfway through sophomore year."

"Could have to do with the fact that you won that little contest," Tommy added. "_Instant Star_, was it?"

"Maybe," Jude shrugged. "I think they started hating me cause I was so much cooler than they were."

Sadie stifled a laugh. "Jude, you were practically invisible until the show. I was often too embarrassed to claim you."

"Wow," Kwest breathed. "That bad?"

"Yeah," Jude admitted sadly. "I was a loser. But my choice in friends didn't help."

Wally nodded. "Why do you think we stayed away from you until you were slightly famous and needed a back-up band? Jamie and Kat weren't so helpful with your status on the social ladder."

"Sadie was my sister and that didn't even help!" Jude cried. "That's how pathetic I was."

"I can't believe you're admitting all this," Tommy told her. "I was always cool in school."

"Well, since you were only in school long enough to where being cool meant your curfew was past 10, I'm not surprised," Jude teased.

"Wait, what?" Kyle interrupted. "That's in like, grade six."

"Seven," Tommy corrected. "I was kicked out in grade seven and never went back."

"Squinty," Wally shook his head. "I'm so disappointed in you."

20 minutes later, Nic and Spiederman lay on the bed in the master bedroom, he sleeping and she unable to wipe the cheesy smile off her face. She tightened her grip around his waist and kissed his shoulder. Being with him was something so new for her. When she'd been with Chris, it was always so repetitive because they were together for so long. Spiederman was new and fun and exciting. He was just so cute that it almost hurt to look at him and yet, she couldn't take her eyes away.

"Hi," he woke up sleepily, looking down at her. He kissed her forehead. "What are you doing?"

"Smiling," she told him honestly. "And I can't seem to stop."

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Funny story," she replied. "I met this guy and he just makes me happy."

He pulled her closer to him. "Must be a pretty lucky guy."

"Oh, he is," she assured him. "Nothing but the best for this girl."

There was a knock on the door.

"Uhh, we hate to interrupt, but we're gonna start lunch," Tommy called in. "Could you like, come out now?"

"Give us a minute and we'll be up!" Nic called back. "I guess we should go eat."

"Yeah, probably," he yawned. "This was nice though."

She kissed his cheek and got up off the bed. "No complaints from me."

"Oh, they emerge!" Jude joked when the two of them made it to the kitchen. "Do we need to wash the sheets?"

Nic smirked. "Contrary to what you may think, we did _not_ have sex; just some heated making out."

"No need," Tommy held up a hand to stop her. "Unnecessary information there, Nic."

"So, how much does everyone love Hilton Head?" Nic asked as they sat around eating hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. "It's amazing, right?"

"Yeah," Jude agreed. "Minus the whole 'everyone's ex-spouse has showed up' thing, it's great."

Nic rolled her eyes. "That will pass, I promise. By this time next week, the three of them will be back in Canada and we'll be partying on the beach all day, every day."

Tommy stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Does anyone need anything while I'm up?"

"Nope," Spiederman said, eyeing everyone involved with the plan. "We're good."

"How are we gonna get Jude downstairs?" Sadie whispered to Nic.

Nic nodded her head slightly at Spiederman. "Don't worry, he's taking care of it."

"Hey, Jude, you have to check out the room with bunk beds," Spiederman spoke up. "You know your weird fascination with the glass sinks that slope upwards?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I have them in both bathrooms of my apartment."

"Well, the one is the bunk bed room is black glass," he reported. "It's amazing."

Jude's eyes lit up. "Black?" She stood up and headed for the steps. "I didn't even know you could get black."

Spiederman held a finger to his lips as he quietly followed Jude down to the lower rooms. As soon as she was in the room, he hid behind a wall near the bathroom and once Tommy emerged, the guitarist shoved him in with Jude, slammed the door, and locked it. He'd made sure to lock the door that led to the master room from the smaller room when he'd been with Nic earlier.

"Done and done," he announced, returning to everyone else. "Now, let's go party and claim we couldn't hear them."

Jude banged her hands on the door. "Let us out!"

"Jude, Jude, Jude," Tommy said slowly. "Do you really think that after the impressive plotting they're really going to let us out?"

"They're all jerks," she grumbled, sitting down on the bottom bunk. "Why would they do this to us?"

He eyed her. "Why do you think? They're just as tired of us dancing around this subject as I am; they just had the balls to do something about it."

"Are you saying you don't have any balls, Quincy?" she teased. "How humiliating for you."

"Good to see that after three years, you still have your bite," he scoffed, sitting down next to her, but with distance between them. "I'll bet Nic and Vin planned this and they think they're so clever for it, too. Amateurs."

"Oh, that's right!" she said. "You were the prank king once upon a time, according to Kwest."

"I was," he confirmed. "Still hold the title, actually. Spiederman can think it's his all he wants, but he's mistaken."

She rolled her eyes. "Why are guys so territorial? I mean, who cares if he's better at pranking than you are now?"

"It's just a pride thing," he stated. "Like, I don't want to just give it up."

"Tommy," she stated dryly. "You're 27-years-old now, grow up. Pranking is for kids."

"Vin's 20!" he protested. "He's an adult."

"Think about what you just said," Jude told him. "Vin is not a typical adult."

Tommy sighed. "He's adult enough to fall in love with my sister."

"At first, I thought it weird that they're throwing out love already," Jude began, "but then I look at them and they're so happy. It's like, they're good-looking and funny and they get along pretty well. Maybe this'll be it for them."

"I'm not sure I'm ready for that," he admitted. "As everyone knows, Vin's not my favorite guy, but over the last three years, I've come to trust my sister's judgment, so we'll see."

"How do you think it's going down there?" Nic wondered as everyone lounged around on the front of the yacht. "Think she's killed him yet?"

Kyle looked at his watch. "It's only been half an hour, so I'd say they're still getting used to being locked in a room together."

"It's not so bad," Spiederman replied, eyeing Nic.

"No more of that from you two," Kwest ordered. "Keep it to yourselves and in your pants."

Sadie bit her lip. "I'm starting to feel a little bad about all of this. I mean, Jude's my sister and I hate when she's mad at me."

"Oh, she'll be mad all right," Nic confirmed, turning over to lie on her stomach. "If I were locked into a room for the next three hours with a guy I've spent the last three years hating, I wouldn't be real amped on that idea."

"Great," Sadie muttered. "I just wanted to get them happy and talking again."

"And we all commend you for that," Spiederman assured her. "It's just that, well, Jude's not exactly ready to forgive him and I can't say I blame her. I mean, he did just up and leave one night for no reason."

Nic cleared her throat. "Excuse me? I'm not reason enough for him to leave?"

"Well, he could've told her," Spiederman went on, covering his tail. "Jude wouldn't have told anyone about your predicament."

"Guitar boy has a good point," Kwest agreed. "Tommy could've told the secret of life and she'd have kept it to herself."

"There is no secret to life," Nic put in. "We're here as useless beings just for fun." Everyone stared at her. "What? I took a philosophy class at McGill and found it fascinating."

Jude stood and banged lifelessly on the door again. "This is getting ridiculous. I'm hungry, tired, and the palest person here. If anyone needs to be out there tanning, it's me. Nic's dark enough, let's lock her in a room."

"If Spiederman can come with her, she'd be all over it," Tommy joked. "Wow, I can't believe I just said that."

"Me either," Jude chuckled. "You like them together, regardless of whether you want to admit it."

"They're not so bad," he said reluctantly. "He's better than Chris, that's for sure."

"So, what are you gonna do when Megan comes back around?" she asked quietly.

"Stand up for myself for once," he answered. "Tell her we're divorced and there's nothing she can do about it. I don't love her anymore, if I ever really did at all, and that's it. She needs to understand that."

Jude remained silent. "Remember what you told me on our third day here, at the picnic?"

"Of course," he nodded.

"I'm sorry for just walking away," she apologized. "I should've stayed then and we should've talked, but you hit me with a ton of bricks."

Tommy took a deep breath. "I know it was bad timing, but I was afraid I'd never get the chance, so I just said it. And I meant it, I really did."

"Yeah, I know," she breathed. "And I've thought about it and I'll accept. I can't tell you that back yet, but I'll believe you."

He smiled. "_Yet_, huh?"

"Don't get your hopes up, Quincy," she smirked. "It's just possible that somewhere down the line, I'll completely forgive you and maybe even let you back in."

"I hope so," he told her. "And sooner rather than later."

She yawned. "Well, until then, I'm gonna take a nap."

"Sounds like a good idea," he nodded. "I'll go up to the top." He stood up.

Jude grabbed his arm. "Quince, this is a day bed, so it's bigger than that one; you can sleep down here, too. I don't bite."

"All right," he muttered, lying down next to her. "If it gets uncomfortable, tell me and I'll move."

"You're fine." She snuggled closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Just don't move around too much."

"Can we let them out yet?" Sadie whined later that afternoon. "It's been over two hours."

"Oh, we can totally spy on them!" Nic cried, jumping up. "There's a little window into the room that we can look into."

She led everyone down the steps to a row of windows. She counted over three and peeked in. "Aww!"

"What?" Sadie pushed her out of the way and peered inside. "Oh, my God!"

"Did she really kill him?" Spiederman asked, trying to see in. "What? They're just sleeping."

"Her head is on his shoulder and he's got an arm around her," Nic pointed out. "That's cute."

"It's pukey," Kwest corrected. Sadie glared at him. "But sweet?"

She nodded. "Better answer."

"I wish I could take a good enough picture of that with my camera," Nic mumbled. "The glass is imported from France and retracts flash or something. My parents are weird."

"I got that," Spiederman smiled.

"Don't worry, we'll be married before you have to meet them," Nic joked as they all walked back to their set-up on the front. "They'd hate you."

He scoffed. "Parents never hate me. Katherine's parents loved me."

"Katherine?" Kwest repeated. "Oh, that's Karma's real name."

"Ooh, catchy," Nic mocked. "I can see why she chose Karma. And it fits because she's a bitch, as well."

"I'm letting them out," Sadie announced. "Sorry, but I have to do it."

When Sadie returned, a disgruntled Jude and Tommy were behind her.

"Thanks, guys," Jude snapped, directing it at Nic and Spiederman. "That wasn't a set-up or anything."

Nic shrugged nonchalantly. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Right," Tommy said dryly. "You had no idea that you and the Boy Wonder masterminded a plan to shove me into the bunk bed room, after lying to Jude about some black sink. I believe that."

"You can't prove it," Nic told him. "Maybe Spied just tripped down the steps and nudged you into the room? And maybe he thought he saw a black glass sink but it was really the dead potted plant?"

"Yeah, that's it," Jude nodded. "The plant."

Spiederman leaned over to whisper in her ear. "And you didn't enjoy your little cuddle fest?"

"How do you know?" she gasped.

"Window," he told her. "And it was nice to see. I'm glad you're taking steps."

Jude looked out at the water. "Maybe more like leaps."


	15. Author's Note

**So, unfortunately, I had to delete the _Instant Star__ Fan Fiction Awards _because they are technically considered "a poll" and those are illegal on this site. Thank you to Criminal Insanity for pointing that out to me. I apologize, cause they were fun while they lasted and I hate I couldn't give the winners so far. Maybe another time. Again, sorry.**

_ChArLeY_


	16. Chapter 14

**Whoo-hoo, another longish chapter. So this one mostly is about Nic and Spied, but the next will definitely be all Jommy because well, it just will. And the next chapter will also bring back the ex-spouses, who are facing their dismissal. Anyways, hopefully you like it and even more hopefully you'll review. To everyone who already does, I love you!**

"Here's how this is going to work," Wally announced, standing in front of Nic as she perched on the coffee table of the house he was staying in. "You can have Sadie and Jude help you paint 'Wally,' 'Kyle,' and 'Spiederman' on you anywhere you so choose, thought it must be readable, and then 'I Love SME' on your back, got it?"

She couldn't help but just smile. She knew the streaking would eventually happen and it was almost comforting that they stuck to their word. "And how long does this streaking thing last?"

"Well, when previously discussed, Kyle and I decided on a full five minute thing," Wally began, "but now that you went all exclusive with Spied, and he wants to keep your nakedness to himself, he negotiated us down to 30 seconds."

"How sweet," Tommy gagged from the kitchen. "That's still 30 seconds too long if you ask me."

"Well, we're not," Kyle stated. He looked down at his watch. "You'll find the appropriate paint in Jude's bathroom; you have five minutes."

As Nic went towards the stairs, Spiederman stepped in front of her. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"A promise is a promise," she pointed out. "And just think, you could've had a private dinner with me and instead, you're allowing the whole beach see me naked. Don't you feel stupid now?"

"More than ever," he admitted shamefully, moving aside to let her pass. "After those 30 seconds is up, you're mine, Quincy!"

Tommy stuck his head around the corner. "No, thanks; I'm going for your lead singer."

"Funny guy," Spiederman smirked.

Ten minutes later, everyone stood on the beach, preparing for the moment.

"You ready?" Jude asked Nic, who was dressed in nothing but a silk, purple robe.

"Let's do it," Nic nodded, going to untie the belt.

"Wait!" Spiederman interrupted. "Does she have to do this? It's awkward for me. I haven't even seen her naked yet and now I have to let the whole beach do it?"

Nic rolled her eyes. "Here, we'll do it this way. I'll let you come peek inside before anyone else and then do my part of the bet."

"All right," he immediately agreed, walking towards her. She pulled her robe out just enough for him to look down and he blushed slightly. "Okay, good to go."

Nic took a deep breath, untied her robe, and let it fall to the ground.

"Thank you, God," Kyle whispered, admiring her practically perfect body. "Spied, dude, you are so lucky."

"Thanks," Spiederman said triumphantly. "But stop staring at her like that, please."

"So, I decided that instead of running like a wild woman all over the place, I'm just gonna take a walk," Nic announced.

"Work it!" Sadie cheered. "Strut like you mean it."

"Umm, the Cheetah Girls called," Jude teased. "They want their song lyrics back."

Spiederman leaned into the conversation. "Why do you know that?"

"As a musician, I know different things," Jude replied. "From me, to Justin Timberlake, to even the Cheetah Girls."

"Loser," Kyle muttered. "I mean, Justin Timberlake? That's as bad as Boyz Attack."

"Wow, thanks," Tommy said dryly.

"Okay, you're good!" Wally yelled to Nic. "Here's your robe."

Spiederman helped her put it back on. "Wanna go inside?"

"Duh," she whispered seductively. "I don't even have to change."

"Uhh, she's cold, so we're going in," he reported back to everyone else.

Jude watched them walk away. "Uh-huh. I bet she's cold."

"More likely she's hot for you guitarist," Kwest added.

"Again, with the talking of my sister's sex life," Tommy sighed. "Let's just not."

"Your house or mine?" Nic wondered. "Forget it, let's go to mine."

She led him inside and to her third floor bedroom, with him kicking his shoes off as they went.

"Down boy," she advised. "I prefer to go slow and take my time."

He crawled onto the bed and rested on his knees. "All right, take all the time you want in removing your robe then."

"Why would I remove it?" she wondered. "Aren't we just watching a movie?"

His face fell. "Oh, are we?"

Though she enjoyed seeing him squirm, she laughed. "No, I'm kidding. But can I take a quick shower to wash this paint off?"

"Sure," he agreed. "Want some help?"

She considered his offer. "I'd rather surprise you."

15 minutes later, after mindlessly flipping through TV channels, her bathroom door opened and she emerged in just a fluffy pink towel.

"Nice color," he joked, pulling her on top of him. "Is it nice and soft?"

"The softest," she confirmed, tugging at where she'd tucked it in. "And I smell good, too."

He pulled her closer and smelled her hair. "You smell like cotton candy."

"It's my favorite shampoo," she explained. "So, now what, Mr. Spiederman?"

"Whatever you want," he replied. "It's your house."

She leaned down and began kissing him softly. "Then I want you."

"Your wish is my command," he murmured, completely pulling the towel away.

Later that night, when they woke up after their few hours together, they wrapped themselves in her red sheets and walked onto her small balcony. They stood in silence, stealing kisses every so often, staring out at the water in front of them.

"This is nice," she spoke up quietly. "I like it."

"What?" he questioned, holding her near him. "Being outside, swaddled in your sheets?"

"Funny," she smirked. "No, I mean us. I love you."

"I love you, too," he assured her, kissing her forehead. "I know it's crazy after only a week or so, but we've been in contact and I fell for you long before I ever even saw you. Of course, I'd seen you in magazines, but still."

She placed a soft kiss on his shoulder, which was becoming her favorite spot. "I think we're cute."

"You're cute," he said. "I just got lucky."

"Yeah, that's true," she grinned. She shivered. "Come on, let's go back inside and you can warm me up again."

"Is Nic still sleeping?" Jude yawned to Tommy the next morning as they stood in the Quincy's kitchen with Kyle. "I'll go wake her up."

"Me, too," Kyle agreed, following her upstairs to the girl's bedroom. He knocked softly on the door and when she didn't respond, he pushed it open slightly.

"Aww," Jude gushed lightly, finding Nic and Spiederman sleeping together, his arms tightly around her waist. "That's so sweet."

"The guy's in love," Kyle noted, shutting the door soundlessly. "Hardcore, head over heels for her."

Jude nodded. "So is she."

"How are things with Tommy?" he asked. "Good, bad, okay?"

"Between okay and good," she answered honestly. "He told me he loves me, so I'm tempted to let him back in, but then my head's like, 'don't do that cause he'll just hurt you again,' so I don't know."

The drummer sighed. "I think you have to be cautious with that one, but not too cautious where you end up regretting it, you know?"

"I do," she murmured.

Before he could say anything else, the sound of Spiederman's cell phone went off, causing them both to jump a little.

"Hello?" Spiederman struggled to answer.

"Vin, man, you gotta take a break from your vacation and head up to NYC on Tuesday," Georgia's voice came through. "_TRL_ wants SME to come and perform 'Leave Running to the Track Stars' that day."

"We do?" he groaned. "What if we don't?"

Georgia paused. "You won't have a comfortable contract to come home to, that's what."

"Fine," Spiederman relented. "Do we have to book our flights, too?"

"Taken care of," Georgia assured him. "You leave tomorrow morning at 8:30 and you'll come back Tuesday night at 6:45." She hung up.

"Who was that?" Nic yawned, stretching her body.

"Georgia," he reported. "Me and the guys gotta head up to New York in the morning to do _TRL_ on Tuesday."

"No!" she whined. "You're leaving me?"

"I have to," he said. "Just for a couple of days and then we'll be back."

"Boo," she whispered. "I hate Georgia. And MTV."

"Me, too," he assured her. "Me, too."

That announcement put a damper on the day. Nic remained in the house, watching re-runs of _Laguna Beach_, the band packed and made sure preparations were made on the phone with Portia and Georgia, Kwest and Tommy did some work, and Sadie and Jude tanned on the beach.

"Nic, come on, do something," Tommy advised, finding her sitting in the dark, watching season three. Her hair was pulled into a messy braid, she was wearing her glasses, and old sweatpants were sagging on her hips while she'd haphazardly thrown on an old sports bra. "Its 2:30 and you're watching a scripted reality show about snobby teenagers in California."

"Tommy, leave me alone," she demanded. "I'm sad right now and seeing these overly privileged brats get into trouble makes me happy."

He rolled his eyes. "You were an overly privileged brat."

"Shut up," she told him heatedly. "Let me do this, please."

"Fine," he relented. "If you need me, I'll be in the office."

Spiederman finished packing and walked over to the other house. He frowned sadly at seeing Nic look so depressed, watching TV. He climbed over the couch and sat down next to her.

"Hi," he greeted. "You okay?"

"Sure," she lied. "Why wouldn't I be? I mean, I'm in Hilton Head, my favorite place on the planet. What do I have to be upset about?"

He eyed her. "Nic, its okay to _not_ be okay with me leaving. Trust me, I don't want to go. I mean, yeah, its great exposure for us, but we don't need it. Hey, maybe you could come!"

"No," she sighed. "Go and do your rock star thing and I'll stay here and wait for you to come back."

"You're mad," he noted. "I don't want you to be mad."

"I'm not mad," she assured him. "I'm just bummed. I'm just gonna miss you." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love this show."

"Really? You're a _Laguna Beach_ fan?" he asked. "And isn't this season three? It wasn't even that good."

"Yes, it was," she corrected. "Completely underrated. See, Kyndra's on again-off again boyfriend, Tyler, is so cute that it's watchable. And she was a sneaky bitch, unlike Kristen, who was always in your face."

"Cute, huh?" he repeated. "Is that so?"

"Oh, are you one of those guys?" she groaned. "If I say someone's cute or good-looking, you get all self-conscious and jealous?"

He shook his head confidently. "No. I don't care; you're with me, not him."

"God, they're so cute," Jude pointed out to Sadie as they watched from the back deck. "People search an entire lifetime for something they found in a week."

Sadie nodded. "I think they could get married."

"Tell that to Tommy," Jude laughed. "He'd love to hear it."

"I know, but I do think so," Sadie said. "Do you think I'll ever marry Kwest?"

Jude scoffed. "Definitely. Within the next year I say he proposes."

"I hope so," Sadie gushed. "I'd say yes in heartbeat."

"No way!" Jude cried sarcastically. "I wish something drastic would happen with Tommy to push me one way or the other, you know?"

"Like, he either sweeps you off your feet or he just completely ices you out?" Sadie guessed. "Well, seeing as you said he told you loves you, I'm assuming you're more likely to get swept."

Jude bit her lip to keep from smiling. "Yeah, maybe."

"Wipe that smile off your face," Sadie smirked. "Why don't you just tell him you want to be with him?"

"Cause I don't know if I do!" Jude cried. "That's why I need the grand gesture; I'll either love it or I won't."

Sadie grinned sympathetically. "I think you need to be open-minded when he does whatever he does."

"Yeah," Jude breathed. "I do."

Nic had decided to drive the boys back to the airport Sunday morning, so she woke up at 5:30 and immediately put a on a pot of coffee.

"Good morning," Spiederman greeted her, letting himself in a few minutes later. "Ooh, can I have some of that?"

"I guess," she sighed, as if it were a major imposition. "No, I'm kidding. Cups are in the second cabinet over from the microwave."

He retrieved a mug from where she'd directed him and filled it. "Portia said to be at the airport by 7:30, so what time should we leave here?"

"Around 6:15 or so," she answered. "Are Wally and Kyle awake?"

"I think so," he yawned, kissing her cheek. "Kyle's in the shower and Wally was getting dressed."

She nodded. "Good, good."

At 6:10, she helped them load everything into the Range Rover and then climbed into the back seat with Spiederman. Kyle was driving to the airport and then she'd drive back.

"Are you still sad?" Spiederman asked her as she leaned into him.

"I'll be sad until Tuesday night," she admitted, her voice cracking. "And you'll be partying like a rock star in Manhattan."

"Please," he scoffed. "I'll be holed up in our hotel room the whole time, missing you."

She smiled half-heartedly. "Liar."

When they got to the airport, Nic walked them as far as security and stopped just before the metal detectors.

"Okay, I guess this is it," she sighed, hugging him tightly. "I love you."

He bent down and kissed her. "I love you, too. It's only a couple of days, so I'll be back before you can even miss me." He kissed her once more and followed Wally and Kyle beyond the security.

"That's wrong," she mumbled, watching them go. "I miss you already."


	17. Chapter 15

**Sorry, this is a shorter chapter, but probably definitely going to be a fan favorite. And it also gives a little clue to something that may, or may not, happen in the future. Yay. Reviewers, who so faithfully review every chapter, I love you. Mucho. Ha, I'm so not Spanish; I took Latin. Anyways, I hope you like it and I'll post again before the weekend is over, for sure.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

Jude decided she wanted to take some initiative with Tommy and asked him to escort her to lunch Sunday afternoon. He agreed in a heartbeat.

"Tom, you've been on dates before," Kwest explained as he sat in Tommy's room while he was getting ready for lunch. "What's so different about this?"

Tommy eyed his best friend. "Are you really asking me that question? This isn't just _any_ date here, Kwest; I need this to be perfect."

"Yeah, yeah," Kwest muttered. "So, what are you wearing?" he joked.

"Not that," Nic spoke from the doorway. "Tommy, you're wearing dark jeans and black shoes. That's a major no-no."

He rolled his eyes. "What would you like me to wear, Nicole?"

She walked to his closet and began sifting through his clothes. "No, no, no, definitely not. God, Tommy, have you bought anything in the last year?"

"Sorry I'm not a fashionista like you are," Tommy apologized sarcastically.

"You kill me," she sighed, looking down at his shoes. "Here, wear these brown shoes, the jeans you have on, and your white Oxford over a plain black t-shirt. And there will be no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

"Who died and made you the fashion police?" Kwest laughed.

Nic glared at him. "Let me have this. Spiederman is in New York, I'm sad, but clothes make it a little better."

"Yes, ma'am," Kwest saluted. "Have you heard from him yet?"

"Do you think I'd still be this bitchy if I had?" she shot back quickly. "No, they were gonna land at JFK, jet over to the hotel, do some phone interviews, and then conference call with Portia. Plus, Darius was supposed to be calling to make sure they carry-out 'the G-Major name' with class and dignity."

"That's Darius for you," Tommy nodded. "All business, all the time."

"Indeed," Kwest agreed. "So, Romeo, where art thou taking fair Juliet for lunch?"

"Don't," Tommy shook his head. "It makes you sound so stupid."

Nic giggled. "Tommy's going on a date."

"I haven't been a date in so long," he admitted. "Like, with Megan, we went out like, three times and then we were just together and it was boring."

"I hate dates," Nic announced. "It's like, they're so cheesy and there's so much expected from them."

"So when the Boy Wonder wants to take you out, you won't go?" Kwest assumed.

Nic sat down on Tommy's bed. "Depends on his idea of the date, I guess. And what's with calling him 'the Boy Wonder?' I mean, I know he's wonderful, but even you two think so, as well?"

"More like _he_ thinks so," Tommy explained, changing his shoes. "We call him that to mock him. And amazingly, he's intelligent enough to understand."

"He hates that everyone thinks he's stupid," she told them. "He won't say anything about it, but he really doesn't like it."

"Yeah, well, whatever," Kwest shrugged indifferently. "He's got it and it's stuck. Besides, until he grows a pair and tells us he doesn't like it himself, too bad."

After a few more minutes of getting ready, Tommy checked his reflection in the mirror once more and then walked downstairs to the living room.

"Now what are you doing?" Nic demanded. "Jude sent me a text saying she was ready five minutes ago, so I recommend you not make her wait any longer."

"Well, why didn't you tell me that?" he asked, picking up the keys to her Ferrari. "By the way, I'm taking your car."

"Well, if it's below a quarter of a tank, you fill it," she told him. "You've driven it more than I have since we got here."

He took a deep breath, left their house, and walked over to Jude's.

"Hi," Jude smiled when he entered the foyer. "You look nice."

"You look much better," he complimented.

Jude was wearing a white cotton skirt, a dark brown tank top, and dressy sandals. Her blonde hair was in its typical soft curls and Sadie had applied subtle makeup to finish off the look.

"Ready?" she asked him. "We can take the Range Rover."

"Well, Nic offered the Ferrari, but we can take whatever you want," he explained.

Her eyes lit up. "Let's take the Ferrari."

They rode in a comfortable silence to the Old Seafood Factory, one of Tommy's favorite local restaurants, and kept the fan-frenzy to a minimum, signing only a few autographs, as they were ushered inside to a table in the corner, near the windows looking out at the water.

"How many magazines do you think will report in the morning that we were seen having lunch together?" Jude smirked, browsing the menu.

"Oh, a Jude Harrison/Tom Quincy semi-date?" he mused. "I'm guessing at least four."

She raised an eyebrow. "A 'semi-date?' I don't even count as a whole date?"

"I wasn't aware you were letting me take you on a date," he admitted shyly.

"Neither was I," she scoffed lightly. "Until we were seated and I saw how good you look today and I realized I've been acting stupid." She paused. "I can't fight you anymore because you're my weakness, Tom Quincy, whether I'm ready for that or not."

Tommy was silent. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. After practically raising Nic, he figured he'd always be able to channel her and speak what was on his mind, but he couldn't.

"Well, say something," she urged him.

"I'm speechless," he sputtered. "I mean, you don't know how good it is to hear you say that, girl."

She reached under the table and took his hand. "I'm willing to really let you back in, but can we keep it between us for just a few days? I'd like to ease everyone into it as much as possible."

He couldn't help but smile. "We can do things however you'd like."

"Aww, already letting me wear the pants in the relationship," she joked. "How chivalrous of you."

"Funny," he smirked. "Will I be able to kiss you?"

"If you're a good boy," she told him sternly, acting like the mother of a rambunctious child. "And if you're bad? Well, maybe then still, too."

Tommy laughed. "So, Harrison, what will you be ordering?"

Her eyes browsed the menu. "I think I'll have the crab legs as long as you're buying."

"_You_ invited _me_ and I have to buy?" he joked. "Hot date."

"You're the boy," she pointed out. "Boys should always buy."

After a nice, relaxing meal, the two of them decided the best way to get some privacy would be to go back to his house because Sadie and Kwest were at the other one and Nic was out doing God knows what.

"We could watch a movie?" she suggested, kicking off her sandals. "I know Kwest brought a bunch."

"That's fine," he agreed, settling onto the overstuffed suede couch. "But aren't those all at the other house?" He pointed to a drawer on the entertainment center. "There's some in there."

She pulled the drawer back and scanned the titles. "Seeing as most of these are chick flicks, I'm really hoping their Nic's?"

"Yes, they are," he chuckled. "But there should be some non-romantic comedies in there that are mine."

She pulled out _Old School _and _Fight Club_. "Here are our options unless you'd rather watch something called _Drop Dead Gorgeous_?"

"Nic's favorite movie," he explained. "It's about beauty pageants or something. And we can watch whichever you want," he offered.

Jude chose _Fight Club_, stuck it in the DVD player, and settled down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. "I've never seen this movie but Spied loves it."

"Oh, God," he muttered. "That just makes him more perfect for my sister. She loves Brad Pitt in this movie."

"She's already planned how we're watching _TRL_ Tuesday," Jude reported. "We all have to be inside at ten till 1:00 to make sure we're ready for it. There's to be no talking during the show, only on commercials. If we even move, we're practically asking for a slap in the face."

He laughed. "I believe it. You know, I've been worrying about them moving too fast."

"Oh, they're practically kids," she said. "Let 'em go."

They spent the rest of the day together while Sadie and Kwest spent the day out around town and Nic locked herself in her room and worked on some new articles for the various magazines she often wrote for.

"So, how was lunch with Tommy?" Sadie asked that night as she and Jude sat in the hot tub. "Still hating him?"

"No," Jude shook her head. "I agreed to being friends for now and seeing where things go from there."

"That's a definite start," Sadie stated. "And I'm sure he's dancing around his bedroom right now just knowing you don't hate him." She looked up at the Quincy house and frowned at the sight of Nic's light still being on so late. "She really misses him and he only left this morning."

Jude sighed. "I know. He called me tonight after all of his interviews and made me promise not to tell her cause he was afraid that if he talked to her and heard how sad she was, he'd hop the next flight back to Savannah and skip out on MTV."

"God, they _are_ crazy in love, huh?" Sadie breathed, pulling her hair up into a messy bun. "It was so fast."

"I'm afraid to tell Tommy this, but at the rate they're going, I can totally see a quickie wedding while we're here," Jude laughed. "He would murder me on the spot for just thinking that."

"He would," Sadie confirmed, "but I agree. We know Spied's impulsive and from what I can tell so far, Nic likes things spontaneous, so I don't know."

Jude dunked her head under the water. "How was your day with Kwest?"

"It was probably one of the best days we've had in so long," Sadie gushed. "We had lunch at some random little seafood place and we shopped around Coligny and it was just good. We're really making positive strides at this point."

"Good," Jude smiled. She was genuinely happy for her sister. "That's good."

"Do you ever think you and Tommy will be in a real relationship?" Sadie wondered. "Like, committed and married?"

"Sadie!" Jude cried. "I don't know! I'm only 20; I'm focusing on my career and we're moving at a glacial pace to re-build whatever we could have."

"It's just, well, you haven't dated really since he left and it's obvious you're sorta destined for him, ya know?" Sadie replied. "It's a freakin' fairytale, Jude. It's like, the rock goddess and her producer white knight? The story practically writes itself."

Jude gagged. "You've been reading too many romance novels. I told you those would corrupt you someday."

"Oh, Jude," Sadie rolled her eyes. "Like the Goo Goo Dolls say, 'just let love in.' It's fantastic."

Instead of responding, Jude just splashed her.


	18. Chapter 16

**So, I decided to make the _TRL_ scene a little cutesy, but sometimes, though rarely, I enjoy cutesy. The title of SME's song, 'Leave Running To the Track Stars' was also used in _Third Times the Charm_, and I liked the name a lot so I used it again. I hope to get at least one more update this week before I head to Chicago with some friends next weekend, but with my work schedule, we'll have to see. As always, much love to the reviewers and I hope you continue doing do.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

Nic ushered everyone into the living room of her and Tommy's house on Tuesday afternoon and stood in front of them. "All right, gang. The show starts in five minutes, so if you need to go to the bathroom before the first commercial break, do it now. While _TRL _is on, there will be no talking, movement, or loud breathing. No making fun of Spiederman, regardless of what he says and/or does." She glared at Kwest and Tommy as she said this. "And finally, I'm really excited for this, so don't tease, okay?"

"All right, Nic," Tommy honestly agreed. "If you miss him that much, we'll behave."

As usual, the first 15 minutes of _TRL_ were boring, as Damian Fahey just announced music videos and talked MTV news with Suchin Pak. Finally, though, the big moment came.

"Even though they're on a month-long vacation in South Carolina, we were lucky to get these guys to take a short break to come visit, so help me welcome the Spiederman Mind Explosion!" Damian cried as the three boys walked to the stage and picked up their instruments, ready to play their latest hit single, 'Leave Running to the Track Stars.'

Nic couldn't help but smile at the sight of Spiederman, even if he was on the TV. And when he smiled knowingly into the camera, she knew he knew she was watching. The crowd really got into the song and when they finished, they joined Damian in the center of the room.

"So, guys, how's the vacation going so far?" Damian asked.

"It's good," Wally answered. "Real good, right, Spied?"

Spiederman rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm having an amazing time."

"Well, speaking of your vacation, tabloids have been popping up all over the place with somewhat revealing pictures," Damian reported, looking at the TV monitor behind them which was now flashing photos of Nic and Spiederman from that week, the most recent being of him leading her, both in their swimsuits, down the steps of the yacht on Saturday. "Rumor has it that you're now dating Nic Quincy. Is there any truth to this?"

"There is," Spiederman confirmed. "We met in January when she started emailing me about a plot to reunite her brother and Jude, and even though I was still technically married at the time, we had a definite connection. When we met for the first time a couple Fridays ago, we hit it off and now, I'm in love with her."

"In love?" Damian repeated. "That's pretty fast though, man."

Kyle nodded. "It is, but he is. And so is she."

"Do you see more wedding bells in your future then?" Damian wondered.

"I didn't see them the first time," Spiederman laughed. "To be honest, the marriage to Karma was never supposed to happen; it was a botched publicity stunt on her part that I stupidly agreed to. Now, though, with Nic, I don't know. I guess I could see myself married to her in the near future."

"Near?" Tommy whispered to Kwest. "I hope he means in about four years."

"So, what about you two?" Damian went on, turning to Wally and Kyle. "Any relationships for you?"

Wally shrugged. "Sometimes. There's a girl I date off-and-on in Toronto and we're on one of our breaks right now, but I'm hoping it doesn't last too much longer."

"I'm as single as they come," Kyle admitted. "I like having as many options as possible."

"Now, back to reuniting Jude Harrison and Tom Quincy," Damian said. "How's that going?"

Wally sighed. "Unless something drastic has happened since we left on Sunday, they're barely on speaking terms at this point."

"Just sort of re-breaking the ice," Kyle added. "He's trying and she's guarding herself."

"Which is probably a good thing," Spiederman put in. "She was humiliated when he left, with the pictures and whatnot, so she doesn't need to be giving into his temptations so soon. But, eventually, I'd like to see them together."

Jude, who had strategically seated herself next to Tommy on the couch, discreetly poked him in the leg and smirked all while keeping her eyes on the TV.

"So, before you guys go, you wanna wave to all the fans outside?" Damian asked.

The three boys, as if using only one brain, looked at him. "Can we moon them?" they asked simultaneously.

"No," Damian laughed. "Indecent exposure laws and all."

"Bummer," Spiederman muttered, walking to the window and waving like a maniac at all the people outside. "If I didn't love living in Toronto, I'd live in New York City."

"Your fans here would love that," Damian assured him. "So, guys, thanks for joining us today and we'll now let you get back to your Hilton Head vacation, where you can expect to now be stalked for the rest of the month you're there."

Nic squealed. "Now, they take a car straight to the airport and they'll be back here in like, three hours!"

"Oh, God," Sadie mumbled. "That just means the next few hours with her will be a nightmare."

"I heard that!" Nic called over her shoulder as she went to make sure she was prepared for Spiederman's return.

"I assume she'll be picking them up at the airport then?" Kwest gathered. "Good, cause I didn't miss them too much."

"Well, she did and she's excited," Jude shrugged. "It's either she be excited her boyfriend's back or depressed cause she still knows her ex-husband is lurking around, waiting to strike. And now, having seen that on TV, he's got a new target."

"Well, I'm not worried about Chris," Tommy admitted. "Megan Lords has powerful connections and she's not afraid to use them."

Jude frowned upon the mention of his ex-wife. She'd forgotten about her over the last couple of blissful days with Tommy. Now, remembering she was making a play at him, Jude's heart dropped to her stomach. How could she fight for him if everyone around her wasn't even aware she wanted to fight?

"Karma's not a threat," Kwest stated. "She just wants attention, not Spiederman."

"Good point," Jude agreed. "She should go and marry the father of Anna Nicole Smith's little girl; he still loves attention just as much, if not more."

"Ooh, good one, Jude," Nic complimented, walking back into the room. "I once met Larry Birkhead, at a party in LA, and he actually asked for my phone number. I would've laughed in his face but he had the little girl with him, so I just politely declined."

"What time are you leaving to pick them up?" Tommy asked his sister.

"Its 2:30 now, their plane leaves at 3:15, which means they'll land at about 5:30, so I'll leave at around 4:15 or so," she reported.

"And are you taking him out tonight?" Tommy went on.

She eyed him. "I told you on Sunday that I hate dates, so no. We're just hanging out around here, either in the hot tub or on the beach."

"So if I want to use the hot tub today, I should do it now, huh?" Kwest assumed. "Well, come on, Sadie." He grabbed his girlfriend's hands and led her back to the house next door.

"I'll be in the shower, so if anyone needs anything, come find me," Nic told Tommy and Jude going back upstairs.

"All alone," Jude sighed. "Whatever will we do with the time, Mr. Quincy?"

He leaned into her ear. "I can think of a few things."

Jude kissed him softly, and then put a little more oomph into it. "Like that?"

"It's definitely a time-filler," he nodded, kissing her again. "I love being able to do this and not having to worry about people seeing."

"So long as it's kept a secret just a while longer," Jude agreed.

"Define secret."

Both Tommy and Jude froze as they looked over their shoulders to see Nic, in her robe, smirking at them.

"Uhh, Nic, this isn't what it looks like," Tommy stammered, pulling away from Jude.

Nic rolled her eyes. "You act as though finding the two of you doing this isn't the outcome we've all been hoping for." She paused. "But, if you wish it to remain secret for just a bit, I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Even from Spiederman?" Jude asked warily.

"Oh, my silence will cost you," Nic assured them. "For one thing, it can only last about four days, so do what you've gotta do before then. And as for my reward, well, I'd like our house for myself for those few days, as well."

"If I agree to that, knowing what you'll want it for, clean up after yourselves," Tommy warned. "Other than that, I'm content sleeping in Spiederman's room over there, so long as his sheets are washed first."

At 4:15, Nic climbed into the Range Rover and headed for the Savannah airport, unable to keep a smile off her face the entire time. Being so in love and so fast was so ludicrous for her. She was a cynic with absolutely no belief in things like 'love at first sight,' but something about the childish guitarist was so different that it made her question everything. And for a girl who hated change, she didn't even fight it.

"There's your girlfriend," Kyle teased as the band walked towards security. Nic was far in front of them, wearing her big, black sunglasses, pacing just beyond the metal detectors. "She's waiting for you. Think she'll be mad when she finds out you called Jude and not her?"

"I called Jude to see how Nic was," Spiederman pointed out in exasperation. "And when Jude said Nic was depressed, I knew if I talked to her that I'd give up New York, so I didn't. And if you mention it, I'll kill you."

Wally was still watching Nic. "Well, get ready for a reunion, Spied, cause she just saw you."

Spiederman looked up just in time to see Nic rushing towards him. He dropped his carry-on, opened his arms, and as soon as he was holding onto her, swung her around. When she was back firmly on the ground, he kissed her so long that a security guard had to politely ask them to 'keep moving.'

"Hi," she smiled, breaking away from him momentarily. "How was Manhattan?"

"Who cares?" he murmured, kissing her again as they went up the escalator. "All that matters now is that I'm back with you."

"Puke," Wally gagged.

"Keep joking, Bass Boy, and I _won't _tell you what Jessica said when Jude called her yesterday," Nic snapped, latching onto Spiederman. Wally immediately shut his mouth. "Uh-huh; that's what I thought," she smirked.

"Well?" Wally demanded, trying to ward off the paparazzi with Kyle. "What did she say?"

Nic sighed and laced her fingers with her boyfriend's while he carried his guitar case in the other hand. "You might want to clean up your room cause she's coming from Thursday to Sunday."

His face lit up. "Really? Jude got her to agree to come?"

"She did," Nic confirmed. "This means that Kyle's been moved to the couch downstairs, Tommy's in Spied's room, and he and Kwest will take apart the bunk beds and make them into one, if you want, before she gets here."

"Where am I sleeping?" Spiederman whined, following her out to where she'd parked.

"With me," she whispered into his ear, tossing Kyle the keys. "I know a secret and the only way I said I'd stay quiet was if you and I could have mine and Tommy's house to ourselves for a few days."

"Can I know this secret?" he wondered.

She shook her head slowly. "Sorry; but it won't stay a secret for long, so no worries."

"Any run-ins with Karma, Chris, or Megan while we were away?" Kyle asked her.

"Not a one," she admitted. "It worries me slightly, especially after your proclamation about us on national TV, so we'll see. I'm not afraid of him anymore, just _for_ him."

Once settled into the Range Rover, Spiederman held Nic's hand tightly and breathed in her cotton candy shampoo. He'd missed it immensely over the last three days, so being back with her was better than any interview or live show.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him quietly.

"You," he replied, kissing her temple. "Always you."

For a cheesy as that was, Nic's lips curled upwards. "That's sweet; disgusting and lame, but sweet."

"Thanks," he said dryly. "Just being honest."

She tilted her head up to kiss his chin. "I know. I was only joking."

"Is anyone hungry?" Kyle asked. "Cause if not, I'm getting on the highway and I won't stop until we're at the houses."

"Take us home," Spiederman told him. "I just wanna spend time with my girl."


	19. Problem

**Bad news- I'm having massive Writer's Block on this story right now. Don't get me wrong, I have so many ideas, but I need a transition to get to them and I'm not finding one at the moment. Like, I know how to get rid of the exes, and of a fun karaoke night, but I'm stuck for the time being. Hopefully, while I'm in Chicago, I come up with something. Or, if any of my faithful reviewers have any fabulous ideas, as I'm sure many of you do, let me know please. I could use them. **

** Sorry-**

**Charley **


	20. Chapter 17

**Fear not, I'm back from my trip and from my writer's block. Anyways, this is sort of a filler chapter, but the next few will be pretty exciting. Sadly, though, it's coming to an end. There will be about five more chapters, maybe more, but no less. Thanks for all the ideas, a few of which I'll probably use. And to everyone who reviews, I love you. You know this.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

Jude, Tommy, Sadie, and Kwest watched out the window as the Ranger Rover pulled into the guest house. Wally got out of the passenger seat and Kyle climbed out of the driver's side.

"Great," Sadie muttered. "I've been using that car and now I have to hose down the back cause God knows what the two of them did in it while they were together."

"Oh, they wouldn't do anything in front of Kyle and Wally," Jude stated. "Even Spiederman has boundaries."

"You sure about that?" Tommy joked as the front door swung open and the four of them made their way inside. "Oh, look, the Stooges are home."

Spiederman laughed sarcastically. "I knew I missed you, Squinty."

"Oh, I'm sure," Tommy murmured. "So, before I go sleep in your bed, I'll need you to change your sheets."

"Why?" Spiederman smirked. "Nic and I had sex in her bed, not mine."

"Vincent!" Nic scolded. "Not in front of the older brother."

Tommy's face was now bright red and he looked furious. "You slept with my sister?"

"Uhh, dude, we kinda knew," Kwest pointed out. "They're not completely subtle."

"I still don't want to hear about it!" Tommy yelled. "Nicole Elaina Quincy, what were you thinking?"

Nic stared at her brother in disbelief. "You know, I'll answer your question: what do I know that no one else knows? If you yell at me, I might just let it slip, brother dear."

"You wouldn't," he said.

"Oh, I would," she assured him. "Now, if you'll excuse us, Spied's got some unpacking to do before he takes some things over to our house." She winked at Tommy and followed Spiederman up the staircase to his room.

"What does she know that we don't know?" Kwest demanded. "I'm your best friend, man."

Tommy shook his head. "It's nothing. You'll all know about it soon enough; I just don't want to jinx it and Nic found out by mistake."

"Are you two hungry?" Jude asked Kyle and Wally. "Plane food isn't the best."

"Starving," Wally confirmed. "Who's cooking?" he immediately asked, eyeing Jude.

"I will," Sadie laughed, opening the refrigerator. "How about spaghetti and meatballs?"

Kyle sighed. "Yes, real food. All we ate in New York was McDonald's and Sbarro."

"You guys love fast food," Jude pointed out. "I can't tell you how many pounds I gain every tour because you want Taco Bell and Arby's all the time."

Wally shrugged. "Sometimes, that's just good eating."

Once Tommy had changed the sheets on Spiederman's bed, he settled down and turned on the TV. _E! News Weekend_ was playing and because there was nothing better on, he didn't change it.

_"On Sunday afternoon, multiple sources confirmed that Tom Quincy and Jude Harrison were seen having lunch together at the Old Seafood Factory, a restaurant in Hilton Head where their group is vacationing this month. Whether or not it was anything more than a friendly afternoon is a mystery, but the sources claim they both looked quite happy in each other's company and Jude couldn't keep the smile off her face if she tried. In related news, the reunion of Tom's sister, and Montreal socialite, Nic Quincy, and Spiederman Mind Explosion front man Vincent Spiederman was a true sight to see, as airport officials claim their kiss just beyond security was so steamy, a guard had to ask them to take it elsewhere. Seems as though things are really heating up down there in South Carolina,"_ Giuliana Depandi reported.

"Great," Tommy muttered. "Glad I missed that."

"Missed what?" Jude wondered, letting herself into the room.

He muted the television. "Apparently, Nic and Vin's little airport reunion was so 'steamy,' a security guard told them to take it somewhere else."

"Wow," Jude breathed. "Well, I'm not surprised. They were both so friggin' depressed while they were apart."

Tommy sighed. "I'm just afraid she's rushing, like she did with Chris, and she's gonna get hurt."

"Spied won't hurt her," Jude assured him. "He loves her way too much."

"I hope so," Tommy mumbled. "So, did anyone see you come in here?"

She grinned and shook her head. "Sadie and Kwest are watching _The Notebook_ and Wally and Kyle are already asleep, so it's just us." She tilted her head up to kiss him.

"I like when it's just us," he told her. "No interruptions."

"Me, too," she agreed. "And I think that by Friday, which is when Nic's planned for us to go to the Salty Dog for karaoke night, we can tell everyone about us."

He rolled his eyes. "Really, karaoke? She's so dumb sometimes."

"She's your sister," Jude warned. "You can't call her that."

"Whatever," he murmured, kissing her again. "What are you going to sing?"

"I don't know yet," she answered. "Maybe something really funny, that nobody would expect from me."

He laughed. "So almost anything Nic listens to?"

"Surprisingly, since she likes Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake so much, Nic has really good taste in music," Jude stated. "She likes Boys Like Girls and Cute is What We Aim For and Fall Out Boy; those are all good bands. Plus, she's into Nirvana, Rancid, the Clash, and the Ramones, too."

"Eclectic," he noted. "She has an entire wall of her apartment covered in vintage vinyl that you would love; she inherited it from my grandpa, or Pops, as we called him."

"And Honey," she nodded. "She told me about them."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the entertainment news, before Jude decided to take a shower and Tommy wanted to send some files to his job as a behind-the-scenes executive in Montreal.

"What are you doing here, Karma?" Nic overheard Spiederman demand on the beach down below the balcony to her bedroom.

Nic, in just a yellow bra-and-underwear set, slipped into his hooded zip-up jacket and walked outside to watch the encounter.

"I just came to tell you that Chris, Megan, and I are leaving for the airport in 20 minutes," Karma explained. "So this is your last chance: take it or leave it."

"I had you once and it wasn't so great," he admitted. "Now that I've upgraded, I think I'll leave it. I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not."

Karma placed her hands on her hips. "And what is it that you love so much about some socialite? She's rarely ever on the radar, except when she does charity work or gives money to some boring foundation."

"You mean like St. Jude's or the San Diego Zoo?" he scoffed. "Nic's a philanthropist, Katherine, something I wouldn't expect you to understand. She likes giving back to those who need help. And that's one of the things I love about her. Besides that, she's not stupid and she's gorgeous and she doesn't use me to get exposure. All you wanted from me was my celebrity."

"That's not true!" Karma explained. "I did like you, Spiedy. You were just, well, you were boring. I mean, it got to the point where all you cared about was music, Kyle and Wally, and Jude. I was your wife and you didn't even care."

"I didn't love you!" he cried. "I was so tainted by your appearance that I believed you when you said you wanted to be married and make it work. Then, having seen my parents go through such an ugly split, I couldn't get divorced and I occupied myself with things that made me happy cause I knew it was all so fake. Luckily, I caught you cheating and I found my out. Now, I'm really and truly in love, so why would I let you ruin that?"

Karma, Nic noticed, even as the sun was setting, fumed. "You _love_ her? You barely even _know_ her!"

"I feel like I've known her my entire life," he said. "And that's good enough for me."

"This is ridiculous!" Karma yelled, looking around. Her gaze landed on Nic. "You'll get bored with him, just watch! He'll ignore you, like he ignored me, and you'll look for a way out."

Nic smirked. "Karma, why don't you just leave? He clearly doesn't want you anymore and he has better things to do, like get his ass back up to my bedroom."

"Katherine, go back to Toronto," Spiederman advised. "Find yourself a new label and just start from scratch." And with that, he turned and walked inside, making his way up to Nic's bedroom, as she'd demanded.

Tommy had walked down to the beach to watch the tides change and he found Megan, sitting on the sand. It was the first time he'd even seen her since she'd come to Hilton Head.

"Megan," he whispered, standing behind her. "What are you doing here?"

She stood up to face him. "To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. I thought I came down here to win you back, make you see what you gave up, but then I saw all the tabloids and news reports about you and Jude and I gave up. You're giving her that look; that look I only ever saw you give once, when you looked at a picture of her. You love her, Tommy, and while it hurts to admit that, I'm not going to stand in the way of it."

"Yeah, I do," he told her. "Megan, I did love you. I just don't think I was ever _in_ love with you and it wasn't fair to string you along anymore. Yes, I messed up that night, but I think we knew our end was coming."

She smiled softly. "Well, I just came by to tell you that we're all leaving tonight. I wanted you to know that I'm gracefully stepping aside for you to be with Jude and I wish you nothing but the best, Tommy."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "The same for you, Megan."

Jude watched from the kitchen as Tommy's ex-wife walked away. He looked out at the water and settled himself onto the sand. For as much as she wanted to go talk to him, to see what had happened, she held back. She knew he loved her and she just had to trust him.

Just as another sexy rendezvous with Spiederman was ending, Nic's Sidekick buzzed on her nightstand. She rolled her eyes and put it on speakerphone. "Yes, Christopher, darling?"

"I'm leaving," he announced flatly. "We're in a limo to the airport and I'm done with you. I never loved you, Nic. I just fooled you into thinking I did when I was really in love with your money."

Nic couldn't contain her light laughter. "Chris, I'm not fooled. For a while, I was, but I haven't been in over two years. To you, money means everything; to me, it's just something I have. One day, I think you'll find someone, probably older, with money that you can take advantage of and they won't mind because you'll be their hot, younger boy toy. Thank God, I'm just not that girl."

"You're gorgeous, Nic," Chris assured her. "Maybe the hottest girl I've ever known, but my shallowness goes beyond that to the material possessions and you just weren't giving in anymore."

Nic rolled her eyes. "Chris, just go home. I'm happy now, you're moving on, and we'll both survive. Who knows? Maybe one day, we'll see each other again; I'll be married to the guy in my bed right now and you'll be wearing an expensive Armani suit while your woman is at home on an oxygen tank." Before he could respond, she ended their connection. "Now, where were we?"

"Wait," Spiederman said. "You want to marry me someday?"

"Is that bad?" she wondered quietly. "Cause if it is, I take it back."

He shook his head. "No, it's good. I want to marry you, too."

"Are we crazy?" she smiled, laying her head on his bare chest. "I mean, we've only been in Hilton Head for a little over a week and we're talking marriage already."

"I'm impulsive," he shrugged. "I take an idea and I run with it. Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's bad."

"At my high school, I was voted 'Most Likely To Do Something Spontaneous At Any Minute,'" she reported. "And also 'Most Attractive,' but that one is boring."

"Maybe so," he nodded, "but it's very true."

"You didn't know the other girls in my class," she giggled.

"Don't need to," he replied. "You're definitely enough for me."

She kissed his shoulder. "You know, it's still early."

"All righty then," he laughed, pulling the sheets up over them.

"I saw you talking to Megan," Jude said when Tommy made his way back into the house that night. "Anything good?"

He just looked at her. "She said she was going to step aside and let us be together cause she knows I'm in love with you and not her, that's all."

"Really?" Jude smiled. "Well, that's good to hear."

"I thought so, too," he agreed, leaning down to kiss her.

"Ahem," Nic cleared her throat, entering through the back door. "What if I had been Kwest or Wally or someone else?"

Jude pulled away. "Hi, Nic."

"Hello, Judas," Nic joked. "How would your best friends feel if they knew you were keeping your relationship a secret from them?"

"Not good," Jude murmured. "She's right, Tommy, I have to tell Spied."

He sighed. "Fine. But can't it wait until morning? I want you all to myself in one more night of secrecy."

"Ugh," Nic gagged, getting a bottled water from the refrigerator. "Can't you at least wait until I'm gone before you talk about that?"

"I believe I heard all about your sex life today," Tommy remembered. "And besides, you're wearing underwear and Vin's jacket, which only implies one thing. Now we're even. "

Nic shuddered and left them alone again in the kitchen.

"So, your room or mine?" Jude whispered.

"Mine is two double beds and you have the master," he stated. "Which would I rather go to?"

"Very funny," she said dryly. "Come on, old man, you'll be falling asleep soon."

"Ooh, there's that bite," he teased, chasing her all the way up to her bedroom, where he locked them in for the night.


	21. Chapter 18

**I know, it's short, I'm sorry. I just don't have much time to update these days, cause I'm getting ready for school and I've had work. I'm used to updating a lot, but count on them getting further apart. Don't worry though, this story will be finished. Eventually. Reviewers, just stick with me, please, or I won't make it. Ha. Love you.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

"How about one more day of not telling?" Tommy suggested to Jude early Wednesday morning. "That way, we can go and do laser tag without having to answer a million questions from Sadie."

Jude stretched. "First of all, how did you sneak in without anyone noticing? And second, I agree about not telling yet."

"I took a few notes from Vin's book and was very stealth about my entrance," he joked. "Well, that and the fact that Sadie and Kwest are already at the beach and Kyle and Wally will sleep until noon."

"Good point," she laughed, kissing his cheek. "So, Mr. Quincy, how would you like the honor of fixing me breakfast in bed today?"

"What do I get out of it?" he wondered. "Cause I don't do things unless I benefit from them, as well."

"I'll let you join me," she offered. "And we can even watch the morning news."

His face lit up in a sarcastic manner. "Oh, the morning news?" He jumped off her bed and went to the door. "Well, in that case, give me half an hour and I'll be back!"

Jude laughed as he hurried away.

Over at the Quincy house, Nic and Spiederman were just waking up when her cell phone rang.

"If it's Chris, hang up," he advised. "Or I'll hunt him down and make _him_ hang up."

She rolled her eyes and looked at the LCD screen. "It's my mom." She pushed a button and held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Nicole?" her mother's snobby voice came through. "Hi, dear, how are you?"

"Fine, Mother," Nic sighed. "What's up?"

Noelle Quincy cleared her throat in her prissy way, meaning she was about to start into her daughter. "Nicole, do not speak to me that way; I'm your mother and I deserve some respect."

"When you start acting like my mother, I'll start treating you like it," Nic shot back coolly. "Now, you never call without reason, Noelle, so what can I do for you this morning?"

"Your father and I are heading to our house in St. Bart's for the rest of the season, so if you or Thomas needs us, that's where we'll be. We didn't want you calling us at the Paris home cause we won't be there."

"Thanks for the heads-up but I don't think we'll need it," Nic told her. "Tommy and I are in Hilton Head with some friends for the month." An idea popped into her head and she grinned mischievously. "Yeah, I'm getting married next week." She winked at Spiederman.

"Married?" Noelle repeated. "You're already married, dear."

Nic groaned. "I _was_ married, Noelle, but I divorced him. The guy I'm with is pretty new but we're in love so we're just getting married."

"You're ruining your life," Noelle warned. "Marrying so many times at such young ages. Why don't you just settle for a bit, find an appropriate career, and wait until you're 30?"

"Because that's boring," Nic answered. "And 'boring' isn't even in my vocabulary whereas it defines yours."

Noelle was silent, but when she spoke again, her voice was full of ice. "Fine. If you want to live your life day-to-day, not knowing anything about tomorrow, I can no longer tell you not to do so. I will say that should you choose to get re-married, your father and I won't be able to attend on such short notice."

"Oh, gee," Nic said dryly. "I'm heartbroken." And before Noelle could say anymore, Nic hung up.

"Married next week, huh?" Spiederman mused.

"I'll pretty much tell Noelle anything to get her off the phone," Nic mumbled.

Spiederman ignored her comment. "What if we really did get married next week?"

"And what if they build a Taco Bell on Saturn and Perez Hilton is elected president?" she joked. "Spied, I only told Noelle that to shut her up."

"Right," he laughed, though deep down, he hadn't been joking.

"Wake up!" Wally yelled, running into the room with Kyle. "Guess what we got everyone to agree to do today?"

"Skinny dip?" Nic guessed.

Kyle made a face. "Eww, Kwest naked? Gross. No, we're going to play laser tag!"

"Yay!" Nic squealed. "We can do teams, so it'll be us four versus those four and we'll kill them."

"Then let's get ready to rumble," Spiederman suggested, climbing out of bed.

"All right, troops, this is it," Nic stated later that afternoon, as her team suited up in a room just outside the laser tag arena. "It's do or die, win or cry (if you know what movies that's from, you score brownie points). This is about winning or losing, not having fun. But, so long as we're winning, fun will be involved." Her hair was parted into two fishtail braids, she wore all black clothing, and had tied a black bandana around her head. "Are you ready, men?" They yelled that they were. "Then let's go get 'em!"

Tommy led Jude, Sadie, and Kwest quietly into the pitch black arena, seeing only by the light on his helmet that would mark their opponents to shoot them.

"You know we don't stand a chance, right?" Sadie whispered. "I mean, we're up against sneaky Nic and SME! They practically invented being stealthy."

"Shh!" Tommy hissed. "Keep talking and they'll hear you. Even if we can't beat them, we can put up a good fight."

Kwest looked over his shoulder quickly as he thought he heard movement. "I'm going this way, so good luck." He turned the corner and went down a separate path.

"I hope he's okay," Sadie admitted, watching him go. "One on four isn't smart, I don't think."

"Then go with him!" Jude told her quietly. "We'll go this way and you two go that."

Sadie nodded and hurried after her boyfriend.

"I would never tell Nic this, but I don't completely hate doing this," Tommy smirked, leading Jude down a long hallway. "I don't have fun like this enough and just let go."

"No kidding," Jude teased, edging closer to him. "You're so uptight and you just need to relax."

He stopped and turned to face her. "Relax, huh? How's this?" He leaned down and kissed her.

Jude took the opportunity to push him towards a wall, intensifying the kiss.

"I hear someone," Spiederman mumbled almost inaudibly to his team. He peeked around the corner to check out the noise and turned to his team, wide-eyed. "Dude and Squinty are totally making out!" He gasped and looked at his girlfriend. "That's it! That's the secret you were holding over him!"

Nic nodded and pulled Wally and Kyle along to see. And there they were, wrapped up in each other, against the wall. "Excuse me, some of us are playing a game here!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Kwest called, appearing with Sadie. "Oh."

"Jude!" Sadie squealed. "What is this?"

"It's called a kiss," Kyle joked. "Duh, Sadie."

She glared at him. "Cool it, drummer boy."

"Well, secret's out," Jude blushed, though it was hard to tell in the dark. "Clearly, umm, I've forgiven Tommy and we're err, moving on with our relationship."

Wally took this chance to shoot everyone on the opposing team. "Well, we win."

"Not now," Spiederman told him. "How long has this been going on?"

"It started Sunday, while you three were away," Jude explained. "Nic found out about it yesterday afternoon and surprisingly, she's kept it to herself since."

"Secrets don't make friends," Spiederman pointed out to Nic.

She smirked. "Well, we're not really friends, are we?"

"You're _lovahs_," Kyle laughed, dodging a punch from his lead singer. "Hey, it's the truth."

"I don't like that word," Nic told them. "Lovers sounds so dirty and affair-like. I would consider Spiederman and I to be in a relationship, so we're much more than friends but much healthier than lovers."

Spiederman, seeming content with that answer, sighed. "Why didn't you just tell us about you guys?"

"Because of me," Jude admitted. "To be honest, _I'm _still getting used to this, so I didn't want to jeopardize anything by throwing it out there so quickly."

"Well, I'm happy for you," Sadie spoke up. "I know you've had so many issues with Tom in the past, but I'm glad he's mature enough to commit and you're ready enough to forgive him."

"Oh, let me take this opportunity to tell you, Tommy, that I heard from Noelle this morning and if she calls and asks, Spied and I are getting married next week."

"You're what?" Tommy repeated. "You're marrying him?"

"Someday," she nodded, "just not next week. I only told her that to get her off my back. But, she said to tell you that she and James are in St. Bart's now, not Paris."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, well, I'll be sure to call them tonight."

"Wow," Kyle mused. "You guys really hate your parents, don't you?"

"We do," Nic confirmed. "They weren't very hands-on, so they pushed us off on our grandparents, Honey and Pop, so we resent them for that. And they're never here for us now either, so we just don't stay in touch too much."

Spiederman wrapped an arm around her. "Well, my parents don't get along with each other and I had to live with my uncle for a while, but they're good now; you can share them."

"Thanks," she smiled, leaning into him. "So, since Wally got you guys and our team won, you have to buy our lunch."

"He won because he cheated!" Sadie pointed out.

Wally smirked. "I didn't cheat; Jude and Tommy did it to you guys when they decided to pause the game for a heated make-out session."

"Unfortunately, we didn't call a 'time-out' when we all stopped, so Wally has a point," Kwest put in. "We lose and we have to buy lunch. It was deal I made with the band on the way here."

"Way to go," Tommy murmured, leading everyone out of the arena. "Now I have to spend $100 on their bottomless stomachs."


	22. Chapter 19

**Yeah, first college update! Whoo-hoo. Of course, I haven't started classes yet, but still, it's been hard to find time to write this story. This is a longer chapter, which I'm happy about, cause they've been short lately, so hooray for me. Ha ha. Anyways, I hope you like what's preparing to happen, even though it's been implied, so let me know. Reviewers, much love, as always. And, if you haven't seen **_Superbad_** yet, DO IT! I've already seen it twice and I die laughing every time. It's hi-larious! **

"Hey, Squinty, can I talk to you?" Spiederman asked Tommy later that night after a late lunch at a local wings place. "Like, away from everyone else?"

Tommy stared at the younger guy in wonder and followed him outside and towards the beach. "What's going on, Vin?"

"I need to ask you something, and this is so hard for me, so before you flip, just hear me out, okay?" Spiederman said. Tommy agreed and the guitarist continued. "Even though I haven't known her that long, I've fallen head over heels in love with your sister. She's gorgeous and smart and funny and she makes me feel like even if I were a truck driver, she'd still love me. I'm not used to that from Karma. Anyways, having said all this, I'm hoping you'll think it's okay if I ask her to marry me for real, not just to piss off your mom."

"Seriously?" Tommy said. He sighed. "Why my permission and not my dad's?"

"Cause it's so obvious yours is the only opinion she cares about," Spiederman replied. "You're her older brother and she adores you. If you say no, she won't agree to it."

Tommy wasn't sure how to answer. On the one hand, he still thought Spiederman was a childish idiot with absolutely no comprehension of responsibility, but on the other hand, he saw that he really did love and worship Nic. "Can I sleep on it?" he finally asked.

"Yeah," Spiederman nodded. "I won't ask, or even bring it up, until I have an answer from you because truly, if you say no, I won't do it; I wouldn't go behind your back like that, Squinty."

"Really?" Tommy asked. "That's pretty cool, man."

Spiederman smirked. "Please. If you don't agree, I'll still ask; I'd just feel a little guiltier in doing it."

"And that's why I'm sleeping on it," Tommy sighed, walking back towards the house.

"Hey," Jude said, sitting at the kitchen table in the SME house. "Where'd you go with Spied?"

He sat down and rubbed his temples. "Spiederman wants to marry Nic, for real, and he asked for my permission."

"Wow," Jude breathed. "That's big for him."

"No kidding," Tommy agreed. "I told him I'd sleep on it and at first he said he wouldn't ask if I said no, but then he laughed and said he'd actually still ask; he'd just feel a little guilty about it."

"Sounds like Spied," she smiled. "Spontaneity is his calling card, you know? He comes up with an idea, runs with it, and it usually works out. Karma obviously didn't, but he never planned on marrying her, so that's just a mistake. I know you might not want to hear this, but if Nic marries him, I can really see them working out in the long run. It might take a bit for them to get there, but they would. I don't think either of them wants a second divorce before 25."

"That's what I was afraid of," Tommy admitted. "Cause as much as I hate to admit this, and I'll deny it if you repeat it, I agree with you. Nic's happier than I can ever remember seeing her and to my dismay, it's because of a five-year-old trapped in a 20-year-old's body."

Jude shrugged. "It could be worse. She could want to actually get back together with Chris."

"That's true," he nodded. "So it's settled then? I'll tell Vin in the morning that I'm cool with him asking my baby sister to marry him after they've only known each other for like, two weeks?"

"Seems so," she smiled. "That's very big of you, Tommy."

"Do I get a reward?" he wondered, walking towards her.

She raised an eyebrow suggestively and headed for the steps. "If you follow me, you just might."

Nic woke up Thursday morning and looked out the window. It was sunny, cloudless, and smelled like a perfect day for the beach. She rolled over and found the rest of her bed empty, with Spiederman nowhere in sight. She threw off the covers, climbed out of bed in her black bra and boy shorts, and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning," Kyle greeted her. "Spied had to run into town this morning if you're wondering where he is. I just came over because we're out of ketchup at our house and I need it for my hash browns."

"That's fine," she told him, pulling her hair up into a loose ponytail. "What did he need to get?"

"No idea," Kyle lied. "He left when I got here and I haven't seen or heard from him since."

She poured herself a cup of coffee, which Spiederman must've made before he left, and hopped up onto the counter. "Do you think he was upset when I said I only said I was marrying him to piss my mom off?"

"I don't think so," he answered unsurely. "I mean, he's been known to play a lot of jokes to get to people, so I'd say he understands."

"Cause I didn't mean it," she interrupted. "I only said that to Tommy because he and Spied don't always see eye-to-eye on everything so I didn't want to start a fight between them."

"So you do want to marry him?" Kyle mused. "That's good. He wants to marry you, that much I do know."

Before she could say anymore, the front door opened and Spiederman walked in empty-handed.

"I thought you running errands?" she said, kissing his cheek once he was standing in front of her. "Change your mind?"

He eyed Kyle. "I did what I needed to do."

"Well, I'm gonna finish my coffee and do the beach all day," Nic explained. "Want to come?"

"Uhh, yeah," Spiederman agreed. "I won't tan, but I'll enjoy watching you do it."

"Perv," she smirked, jumping down. She set her mug in the sink and went back upstairs. "I'll be ready in 15 minutes so you'd better be, too!"

"Let me see it!" Kyle demanded quietly.

Spiederman pulled a black velvet box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a single, square-cut diamond on a platinum band. It was big and perfectly cut, just as Nic would want it.

"Think she'll like it?" Spiederman whispered. "Jude said she would."

"I think so," Kyle confirmed. "It's simple, but it stands out, kinda like Nic does."

"Okay, I better go up so she doesn't get too suspicious," Spiederman decided, putting the box back into his pocket. "When it's time to happen, you and Wally will know first."

Nic stood in front of her floor-length mirror, holding two bikinis in her hands, trying to choose which one to wear. She was down to picking between the purple Marc Jacobs halter or the hot pink Betsey Johnson string.

"How about neither?" Spiederman suggested, leaning against the doorframe. "You've been to France so just pretend you're there and it's a topless beach."

"Funny," she laughed dryly. "I'm thinking I'll go with the pink one today." She held it in front of her and turned to him. "Look good?"

"Looks great," he nodded. "So, do we have any plans for tonight yet?"

She eyed him. "Duh. We're going to Salty Dog for karaoke."

"Do we have to participate?" he asked.

"You do if you'd like to continue sleeping in my bed," she answered. "But, I'll let you perform with the boys if that helps."

"Thank you," he nodded, pulling his green board shorts from a drawer and changing into them. "Hurry up and change or your spot will be taken."

"Spied," she started, pulling off her bra, "it's a private beach. You can't come onto it unless invited or doing so illegally and people here just don't do that."

Once they were outside, he set up their chairs and she lathered herself in tanning oil. She sat down and pulled out the latest _Vogue_ while he turned on his iPod and immediately fell into a deep sleep on his stomach.

"Umm, excuse me?" a soft young voice whispered 20 minutes later. "Is that Spiederman from SME?"

Nic looked over her right shoulder and saw a young girl of about 15 standing next to her, staring at her boyfriend. "Yeah. And I'm sure you'd like to meet him, but he was up early, so I don't recommend waking him up just yet."

"Oh," the girl nodded. "You're really lucky, you know. I mean, he talked about you on _TRL_ after only knowing you a week and a half, but he never talked about Karma, and they were married."

"I feel lucky," Nic admitted. "I was married when I was 19 and I thought I was in love with that guy, but now that I've met Spied, I wonder what the hell was I thinking?" She motioned for the girl to sit down. "What's your name?"

"Carrie," the girl introduced herself. "I wasn't ever a big SME fan, just Jude Harrison, but then they released their solo album and I loved it, so now I like both."

Nic smiled. "Well, he usually loves meeting fans, especially ones who don't seem psychotic, but I think he's pretty tired. I just wish I knew what he went into town for this morning because he didn't come home with anything in his hands."

"Maybe he just wanted to explore?" Carrie suggested. "I mean, if he's never been to Hilton Head before, which I don't know if he has or hasn't, he could just be interested."

"Yeah," Nic agreed, "but he would've woken me up to take him around. I used to spend every summer here until I was about your age."

Carrie was quiet for a minute. "Maybe he bought you something that he's hiding and that's why you couldn't go?"

"That could be," Nic shrugged. "But what could he buy me that I don't already have?"

"An engagement ring?" Carrie interrupted. "You don't have one of those."

Nic shook her head. "Nah, he doesn't think I want to marry him, even though I do. See, my brother and I don't get along with our parents and my mom called yesterday and to irritate her, I said he and I were getting married. But when I told Tommy about it, I told him I was joking and that we're not getting married for real. What Spiederman doesn't know is that I'd marry him anytime, anywhere, any day."

"Then why don't you just tell him that?" Carrie wondered nervously. "I mean, I always read about how you're very outspoken and straightforward, so if you really love him enough, just tell him."

"I wish it was that easy," Nic sighed, pushing her Marc Jacobs aviator sunglasses up on top of her head. "I can't keep playing hot and cold on the marriage issue, so since he thinks I'm opposed to it for now, I'll just stick to that until he's ready to just propose and get it over with."

Carrie stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, I should get back to my family, but when he wakes up, tell him I stopped by to say hello and we're on Cavalier Beach. And Nic, for your own sake, don't let him keep on thinking that you don't want to marry him because eventually, he might not want to marry you." She grinned and walked away.

Later that afternoon, Jude stepped onto the back deck of the SME house with Sadie and couldn't help but smile as she watched Spiederman and Nic play on the beach, chasing each other and dodging waves.

"He's gonna ask her to marry him," she informed her older sister. "Tonight, at karaoke, through a song, sort of."

Sadie shrieked, but made sure to keep it quiet it enough to not capture any outside attention. "You're kidding! What song?"

"I don't know," Jude admitted. "I know he's performing with Wally and Kyle, which should be good, so we'll have to see. He was so excited when we went to pick out her ring today, which cost about as much as a down-payment on a house in Malibu."

"Really?" Sadie scoffed. "He finally learned what's worth spending money on and he stopped wasting it on one-of-a-kind Clash bootlegs from England?"

"He still buys those," Jude stated, "but he picked a ring so perfect, Nic has absolutely no way of saying no to him."

"That was never in question," Sadie smirked. "Look at those two; they have 'love' written all over them." She bit her lip. "I'm happy for them, I am, but they've only even known each other since January and have been dating for like, two weeks. How can they get engaged in that short period time when I've been with Kwest for like, two and a half years and am still ring-less?"

"Sadie, in case you haven't noticed, Spied and Kwest are two very different guys," Jude teased. "Kwest is rational and analyzes every possibility about everything while Vin tends to do things without thinking most of the time. Kwest is smart and has a good head on his shoulders whereas Spied's just lucky his head is still attached. Don't think Kwest loves you any less because you're not engaged and they're going to be."

"I know," Sadie nodded sadly. "Wishful hoping, I guess."

"It'll happen," Jude assured her. "Just give it time."

Nic looked down at her watch and yawned. "It's almost 4:00 and Tommy wants to leave by 6:30 cause it's always hard to get a table at the Salty Dog, so we should probably head up to shower and get ready?"

"You know what will makes things go a lot faster?" Spiederman asked, packing up their belongings. "If we showered together. It'll save water, time, and energy."

"Well, if you're a good boy," she joked, loading magazines back into her bag. "Of course, the house has four showers, so I doubt time would be an issue."

He made a face. "Fine. Showering together would just be more pleasurable for the both of us."

"Would it?" she mused playfully. "Well, if you put it that way, all right."

"Yes!" he cried, running towards the houses. "Last one back has to un-clog the drain when we're done to keep Squinty happy!"

"Cheater!" she yelled, hurrying after him.

"'Un-clog the drain?'" Tommy repeated, eavesdropping from the balcony as he prepped to get ready. "Yeah, sounds like a relationship built to last." He shook his head, laughed, and walked inside, completely unprepared for what was happening that night.


	23. Chapter 20

**Yay, another chapter! And only two left, along with an epilogue. This is a huge chapter as far as decisions made for people. I hope you all like it. Reviewers who are sticking with me, even while it takes me forever to find time to update- I love you guys! Seriously, you have no idea. If it weren't for you, I'd never get this done. Hopefully, I'll have another update next week, but I've got papers and essays to write, plus I'm going home for Labor Day, so we'll have to see. Anyways, read and review. I love feedback.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

"This is a fun place," Sadie pointed out as their group found a table on the deck at the Salty Dog Café later that night. "Can we eat outside, too?"

"If we order off of the grill we can," Nic explained. "Restaurant food has to be eaten inside. Or, we can order pizza from Jake's, which is really good, too."

Tommy shrugged. "It looks crowded inside, and it's not too hot, so why don't we stay out here?"

"Yeah, and we're near the stage, so when karaoke starts, we'll be up front," Kyle pointed out. "You guys will love our performance."

"Nic, what are you singing?" Kwest asked once everyone was seated and eating their various foods. "Please don't say Britney Spears."

She smirked. "Very funny, but no, nothing by her. It's a secret, actually, cause it's a song that none of you, except possibly Jude, even knows."

"Well, I'm intrigued," Wally said. "But it still won't beat ours."

Spiederman kicked him under the table. "Yeah, well, ours, too, is a surprise, so quit talking about it, Wallace."

"Sorry," Wally apologized quietly. "So, when does karaoke start?"

Tommy looked at his watch. "In about half an hour."

"So, just a question, and I don't mean for this to sound rude, but Nic, can you sing?" Kyle wondered.

"Yeah," Tommy answered for his sister. "She took voice lessons until she went to college and she's amazing. She could be signed if she wanted to and if Georgia was crazy enough to do it."

"Ick," Nic shuddered. "The life of a musician is one I never wanted and I still don't."

"So you hate my life?" Spiederman assumed. "That's not cool."

Nic smirked. "I said I didn't want that life, not that I didn't like it for you. You're suited to be a musician; I am not."

"Better answer," he replied. "So, who else will be gracing us with a performance tonight?"

"I will," Jude offered. "I'm sure there's something I could sing."

Sadie looked at the stage and sighed. "No, thanks. I can't carry a tune to save my life and I'm not up for embarrassing myself in a public place full of strangers."

"Good idea," Kyle teased. "I'd like to keep my dinner down."

Kwest glared at the young drummer. "If you want to live to see breakfast, you'll apologize."

"Sorry, Sadie," Kyle mumbled. "You sing like an angel."

"Yeah, a Hell's Angel," Wally whispered.

Sadie snapped her head in his direction. "I heard that, bass boy."

"Keep it quiet," Nic suggested to the two boys. "You get in less trouble that way."

"Less is better," Jude agreed. "Always with you boys."

The people they sat and watched perform in the beginning of the karaoke session weren't very good, but that's what made people like them.

"See, Sadie?" Kyle piped up. "You don't have to sing like Celine Dion for people to like you. That guy sounded more like Deon Sanders."

Sadie shot him a look. "Don't go there, not again."

"All right, all right!" the MC called out as a woman finished her out of tune rendition of 'I Will Survive.' "Next up, we have the vocal stylings of Miss Nic Quincy!"

She cleared her throat and walked up the steps to the microphone. "Umm, I would like to dedicate this song to Spiederman, even though that's horrible cheesy."

_**Bubbly**__ (by Colbie Caillat)_

_I've been awake for a while now  
You've got me feelin' like a child now  
'Cause every time I see your bubbly face  
I get the tingles in a silly place_

"I love this song!" Jude whispered. "It's so perfect for you two."

_And it starts in my toes  
And I crinkle my nose  
Wherever it goes  
I always know  
That you make me smile  
Please stay for a while now  
Just take your time  
Wherever you go_

_The rain is falling on my window pane  
But we are hiding in a safer place  
Under covers staying dry and warm  
You give me feelings that I adore_

_And it starts in my toes  
Make me crinkle my nose  
Wherever it goes  
I always know  
That you make me smile  
Please stay for a while now  
Just take your time  
Wherever you go_

_What am I gonna say  
When you make me feel this way  
I just mmmmm_

_And they start in my toes  
Makes me crinkle my nose  
Wherever it goes  
I always know  
That you make me smile  
Please stay for a while now  
Just take your time  
Wherever you go_

_I've been asleep for a while now  
You tuck me in just like a child now  
'Cause every time you hold me in your arms  
I'm comfortable enough to feel your warmth_

_And it starts in my soul  
And I lose all control  
When you kiss my nose  
The feeling shows  
'cause you make me smile baby  
Just take your time now  
Holdin' me tight_

_Wherever wherever wherever you go  
Wherever wherever wherever you go_

_wherever you go  
I always know  
'Cause you make me smile  
Even just for a while_

Nic finished the song, bowed slightly, and walked down the stage to their table.

"Nic, that was so good!" Sadie gushed. "Tommy was right for once; you can definitely belt it out."

"Thanks," Nic blushed, turning to her boyfriend. "Well?"

Instead of answering, he leaned over and kissed her. "I loved it."

"Good," she smiled, pressing her forehead against his. "Who's next?"

"Ladies and gentlemen," the MC began, "it is with great pride and pleasure that I welcome our next performer to the stage. At just 15, she was the first Instant Star. At age 17, her second album went double platinum. And, at 19, she won two Grammy Awards. Let's give it up for Miss Jude Harrison!"

Jude scooted her seat back and took to the stage. "Well, I wasn't planning on singing, but we got here and I changed my mind, so I just decided I'd do an acoustic version of a song I really love. It's called 'Misery Business' by Paramore."

_I'm in the business of misery,  
Let's take it from the top.  
She's got a body like an hourglass that's ticking like a clock.  
It's a matter of time before we all run out,  
When I thought he was mine she caught him by the mouth._

_I waited eight long months,  
She finally set him free.  
I told him I can't lie he was the only one for me.  
Two weeks and we had caught on fire,  
She's got it out for me,  
But I wear the biggest smile._

_[Chorus:__  
Whoa, I never meant to brag  
But, I got him where I want him now.  
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag  
To steal it all away from you now.  
But god does it feel so good,  
Cause I got him where I want him now.  
And if you could then you know you would._

_Cause god it just feels so...  
It just feels so good._

_Second chances they don't ever matter, people never change.  
Once a whore you're nothing more, I'm sorry, that'll never change.  
And about forgiveness, we're both supposed to have exchanged.  
I'm sorry honey, but I'm passing up, now look this way.  
Well there's a million other girls who do it just like you.  
Looking as innocent as possible to get to who,  
They want and what they like it's easy if you do it right.  
Well I refuse, I refuse, I refuse!_

_Whoa, I never meant to brag  
But, I got him where I want him now.  
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag  
To steal it all away from you now.  
But god does it feel so good,  
Cause I got him where I want him right now.  
And if you could then you know you would._

_Cause god it just feels so...  
It just feels so good._

_I watched his wildest dreams come true  
Not one of them involving you  
Just watch my wildest dreams come true  
Not one of them involving._

_Whoa, I never meant to brag,  
But I got him where I want him now._

_Whoa, I never meant to brag  
But I got him where I want him now.  
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag  
To steal it all away from you now.  
But god does it feel so good,  
Cause I got him where I want him now.  
And if you could then you know you would._

_Cause god it just feels so...  
It just feels so good._

"Dang," Nic breathed. "I love listening to Jude sing songs that aren't hers cause she totally makes them her own."

Tommy nodded and couldn't wipe the grin off his face as the entire crowd gave his girl a standing ovation.

"Thank you," Jude said into the microphone.

Spiederman, Wally, and Kyle stood up as the MC announced the next performer.

"Where are you going?" Nic asked, holding onto Spiederman's hand.

"We gotta go get ready," he explained, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Don't worry, it'll be worth it."

She pouted as they walked away. "I hate people keeping secrets from me."

"Don't," Tommy shook his head. "I think you'll like this one."

Five minutes later, the MC stood on the stage once more and laughed. "This is our last act of the night and it's another big surprise. They started out as Jude Harrison's backup band but they've turned themselves into one of the biggest alt-punk bands in the world. Give it up for the Spiederman Mind Explosion!"

Spiederman, Wally, and Kyle appeared, each wearing their own variations of what would be considered 'gangster,' complete with chains, sideways hats, and Kyle even had a grill.

"So, this performance isn't just about entertaining everyone tonight," Spiederman reported. "It's about doing something that will hopefully change my life forever."

_**Let's Get Married **__(by Jagged Edge)_

_See first of all  
I know these so-called playas wouldn't tell you this  
But I'm gonna be real and say what's on my heart  
Let's take this chance and make this love feel relevant  
Didn't you know I loved you from the start, yeah_

_When I think about all these years we put in this relationship  
I knew we'd make it this far?  
When I think about where I would I be if we were to just fall apart  
And I just can't stand the thought of leving you_

_Meet me at the altar in your white dress  
We ain't getting no younger, we might as well do it  
Been feeling all the while girl I must confess  
Girl let's just get married  
I just wanna get married_

_Meet me at the altar in your white dress  
We ain't getting no younger, we might as well do it  
Been feeling all the while girl I must confess  
Girl let's just get married  
I just wanna get married_

_Said I done it all  
But frankly girl I'm tired of this emptiness_

_I wanna come home to you and only you  
Cause making love to just anyone ain't happening  
I just gotta be with you_

_Do you think about us finishing something we started so long ago?  
I wanna give you my all  
Do you think about us maybe having some babies?  
Come on won't you be my lady forever,yeah_

_I'm ready to commit to you  
And I just can't wait for that night  
Cause I need you here with me  
And let's start a family_

_Meet me in the altar in your white dress  
We ain't getting no younger, we might as well do it  
Been feeling all the while girl I must confess  
Girl let's just get married  
I just wanna get married_

Nic's eyes widened as she watched, and laughed, as the three boys paraded around on stage rapping the song. She felt her heart speed up as they finished, almost afraid of what was coming next.

"So, it's pretty clear that we sang that song as a transition into what I'm about to do," Spiederman announced, walking down the steps of the stage to stand in front of Nic, pulling the velvet box from his pocket, his hand shaking.

"Oh, my God," Nic breathed. "Are you seriously doing this?" She looked at her brother who just nodded slightly and smiled. "You knew about this?"

"Nicole Elaina Quincy, we've only known each other in person for two weeks, which makes this sound crazy, but in these two weeks, I've come to feel like I've known you my entire life," Spiederman told her softly. "Having been married once before, and watching that fall apart, I know that I've finally found my match because I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't. So, to make this short, I'm asking you to spend your life with me."

"Yes!" she shrieked. "Absolutely, you freak!"

He straightened up to sweep her into his arms, pulling her into the most passionate kiss they'd ever shared.

"Congratulations!" Sadie cried as everyone at their table stood up to surround them. "Nic, let me see that ring, girl!"

Nic pulled away from her fiancé and let Jude and Sadie engulf her while the guys circled Spiederman. But, the entire time the other two girls were toying with her ring and gushing over it, she kept catching his eye and smiling at him.

"Just do it," Tommy whispered into Kwest's ear. "It's now or never at this point."

Kwest took a deep breath. "Okay, umm, I'm not trying to steal your all's thunder, not at all, cause your engagement will be in the papers and mine won't, but there's something I need to do."

"Kwest?" Sadie said uncertainly.

He got down on one knee and pulled his own black velvet box from his pocket, opening it to reveal a princess-cut diamond with smaller diamonds around the entire band. It was big, extravagant, and very Sadie-like. "Sadie Harrison, I'm not as good with words as Spiederman might be, so I'll just ask: will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she cried, pulling up to kiss him. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Before turning to congratulate them, Kyle turned to Tommy and Jude and winked. "You're next."


	24. Chapter 21

**This is one of the faster chapters I've written lately, so I'm proud of myself. Of course, I'm going home for Labor Day weekend, so I probably won't have anything up now until next week. But, that'll be the last chapter. Don't worry, I'm working on an epilogue, too though. Oh, and if you look at my profile, I put up some pictures of the best way I would imagine Nic and Chris. You know what Karma looks like and to imagine Megan, just think of Jude but a little older-looking and with the short hair. To those who review, thanks and love.**

Nic woke up on Friday morning in Spiederman's arm, so she snuggled closer to him and smiled. They were engaged now, not just dating. It was crazy to think about and yet, it felt so right.

"Good morning," he said, his eyes still closed. "Sleep good?"

"Yes, fiancé, I did," she replied jokingly. "You?"

"Better than I have in my entire life," he answered. "Cause I know that I'm spending the rest of it with you and that's all that matters anymore."

She grinned. "I'm glad you say that cause here's what I'm thinking: we should get married while we're here."

"Really?" he replied. "That's what you want? Cause I'd kinda pegged you for wanting a big, over-the-top wedding."

"No, no, no," she shook her head. "Let Sadie have that. I want to be married to you as soon as possible so I can go back to Canada as Mrs. Vincent Spiederman."

He considered her suggestion for a minute. "Yeah, I like that. Okay, how's next Saturday sound to you?"

"Fabulous." And before he could say anymore, she titled her head up and caught him in a sweet kiss.

"I can't believe everyone around us is getting engaged all of a sudden," Jude said to Tommy as they sat outside on the back deck of the SME house. "It must be marriage season."

He smirked. "Yeah, no kidding. Can you believe what Kyle said after that? 'You two are next.' I mean, we've only been together for like, not even a week yet."

"That's true," she agreed, "but it's not like this is something that no one expected. I mean, we danced around it for years before it really happened."

"Do you want to get married?" he asked her.

Jude shrugged. "Someday. I'm only 20, so I'm definitely not ready for it right now, but it's something to consider."

"I'll keep that in mind," he murmured to himself. "So, what's going on today?"

"Jude's gonna help me start planning my wedding," Nic spoke up from behind them. "That's what."

"Nic, you were just engaged last night," Tommy pointed out. "Take some time to just soak it all in."  
Nic stepped outside and hopped up on the railing in front of them. "I'd love to, but since we decided we're getting married next Saturday, I don't have my time to waste."

"You're getting married in a week?" Tommy cried. "Why so soon? Nic, are you pregnant?"

"Because we want to and no," Nic answered. "I'm very careful, Tommy. Kids are not something I'm ready for just yet, if ever."

"Oh, you'll have kids," Jude assured her. "If Spied has anything to do with it, there will be many of them, all boys."

Nic rolled her eyes. "In time. Anyways, I need to secure a location, look for a dress, decide who I want to come down for this, and figure out how to keep paparazzi to a minimum."

Tommy threw her a tabloid. "Well, they already know it's coming."

Nic looked down at the headline, "Here Comes the Socialite Bride," and flipped to the little story on page 34.

_Sources report that last night at a popular Hilton Head restaurant, Spiederman Mind Explosion front man Vincent Spiederman proposed to girlfriend, Montreal socialite Nic Quincy, in a very unique way._

_"He, and the other two guys, performed karaoke to the song 'Let's Get Married' by Jagged Edge and he asked her as soon as they finished," the eyewitness reports. "It was very sweet and she immediately accepted."_

_Dates and details are unknown as this point, but it will be the second marriage for both parties. He was married for one year to third season _Instant Star_ winner Karma and she was wedded for a few months to high school boyfriend Chris Gibbons. Whatever happens, we'll keep you updated._

"Well, that didn't take long," Nic scoffed. "I guess I'll have to be very discreet about my appearances this week. I can't let them see me buying anything bridal."

"Good luck," Jude muttered. "If the paparazzi ever knows anyone is getting married, especially people like you and Spied, they'll be on you like Kyle on supermodels. There isn't a place you can go that they won't find you at now."

Nic stretched. "Well, fine. Let them know. We just won't let them have any access to the wedding."

Tommy scoffed. "Do you think you can really pull that off? According to Portia, who sent me a _Talk National_ article, you're the 'Couple of the Year,' back in Canada. Secrecy isn't something that's gonna come easily now."

"Wow, you are so pessimistic this morning," she mused. "I'm gonna go inside and have some breakfast. Hopefully when I come out, Nice Tommy is awake." She jumped down and walked into the house.

"Married in a week," Jude breathed. "That's crazy."

"And yet, it's them," Tommy pointed out. "To be honest, I'm not completely surprised they're doing it this way. Nic isn't patient and Vin has the attention span of a five-year-old, so if she tried to get him to keep interest for months while planning, I doubt they'd make it to the alter."

Jude smiled. "Yeah, that's probably true. Patience isn't a virtue when it comes to the two of them, I guess."

"February 16," Sadie announced, walking out onto the deck with Kwest. "That's the date we've decided on."

"You guys already have a date?" Jude asked incredulously. "Nic and Spied are getting married next week and you two have a date? Next thing you know, Wally will already be married."

"Speaking of, I thought his girlfriend was supposed to come in last night?" Tommy remembered.

Jude nodded. "Her flight was delayed to this afternoon, so he's picking her up at the airport around 3:30 or so."

"That's why he's been cleaning all morning, huh?" Tommy realized. "Now I understand. At first, I just thought he lost a bet with Kyle."

"Nope, just preparing," she reported. "It'll be nice to have Jessica around. That way, while you and Nic are going wedding-crazy," she said to Sadie, "she and I can avoid you two like the plague."

"I can't believe they're doing this is a week," Sadie admitted. "Is she pregnant?"

Tommy laughed. "No, but I asked the same thing. Jude and I agreed that Nic and Vin are impulsive and don't have the patience to plan out a huge wedding. This way, they'll get it over with without having the press on them for the next eight months."

"Yeah, we have the luxury of being nobodies," Sadie said. "The only thing the press would mention about our wedding is that Kwest works at G-Major and that all of you guys will be in attendance."

Jude smiled smugly. "Yeah, well, that's what being famous gets you."

"Eww," Sadie gagged. "Don't be a brat, Jude."

"I was kidding," Jude assured her, standing up. "All right, well, I guess I'll put in some effort to help Nic until Jessica gets here. Once she does, it's all you, Sades."

Jude found Nic seated on the couch, drinking orange juice and flipping through an issue if _InStyle Weddings_, looking at dresses.

"Anything you like?" she asked.

"It depends," Nic shrugged. "If we have it on the beach, I obviously need something that won't drag in the sand, but if we have it indoors, I want something that won't be too hot in the summer. I guess I should find a location before I do the dress shopping, huh?"

"Probably," Jude agreed. "I know I've never been here before, but I was out on a bike this week and there's a little garden-like area here in Shipyard that would be pretty perfect as long as the guest list doesn't surpass about 30."

Nic's face lit up. "The Whirlaway Gardens! That's perfect, Jude! And they'll have to let me have it because my dad paid to have it put in." She picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number. "Yes, hi, this is Nic Quincy and I would like to rent out the Whirlaway Gardens for next Saturday." She paused while the other end spoke. "It's for my wedding." Another pause. "Yes, thank you." They spoke again. "Good. Well, we'll probably start setting up for it Friday night, but since my family financed the entire landscape, that won't be a problem, will it? No? Good. Bye." She hung up. "All right, now that that's settled, I can find a dress."

"Well, you'll be on a platform, so what do you want now?" Jude wondered.

"I have it!" Nic gasped, closing her magazine. "Sweetheart neckline, silk, and tight around the hips and thighs and then flows around my feet. And I want off-white, not white, cause I'm not a walking cliché. I've had sex."

Jude laughed. "All right, now, where will you find this dress?"

"I'll have it made," Nic answered simply, picking up the phone again. "I know people, Jude; I'm a socialite."

"Right," Jude smirked.

"Hi, Richie ," Nic said warmly into the receiver. "Here's the deal: I'm getting married next Saturday and I need a dress. More importantly, I want you to design it." She was quiet as one half of the design team of Heatherette spoke to her. "You'll do it? Well, listen to what I want and then you can draw up some sketches and fax them. I'm thinking silk, a cream color, sweetheart neckline, and I want it to be form-fitting and then to flow out around my ankles, but not too long. It's an outdoor wedding and I don't want to be tripping everywhere." Richie Rich spoke again. "Yay, I love you. Okay, I'll expect those sketches tonight then. Bye, love." She hung up and looked at Jude happily. "See, nothing to it."

"When I get married, I'll need your help," Jude pointed out. "You get things done."

"Since you'll be marrying my brother, I'll be around," Nic stated. "Don't worry."

Jude eyed her. "Nic, Tommy and I are taking things one step at a time. Marriage is not something we're even considering at this point."

"Maybe you aren't," Nic mumbled. "So, guest list. I'll start naming people, you write them down, and we'll show Spied to see what he thinks." She cleared her throat as Jude opened a notebook Nic had sitting with her. "Okay. You, Tommy, Sadie, Kwest, Wally, Kyle. I want Portia, Georgia, Darius, and Shay. He'll want his parents, all four grandparents, his uncle Dave, and cousin Ben. I'm sure he'll want Jamie here, too. We'll add my friends Arianna and Christian, mine and Tommy's childhood housekeeper Tallie, and that should be good."

Jude set the pen down. "Shall we go and find your fiancé, then?"

"We shall," Nic confirmed. "He's over at our house."

The two girls found Spiederman talking on the phone to his mom, telling her the news.

"How's Lindsey taking it?" Jude whispered.

He gave her the thumbs up sign. "She trusts me."

"Good," Jude nodded, turning to Lindsey. "Her approval is pretty important to him, so when they come down, you'll really have to impress her."

"Okay," Nic nodded. "I thrive under pressure."

"All right, Ma," he said, finishing up the call. "I'll talk to you soon. I love you." He hung up and set his iPhone aside. "All right, what's going on?"

"Guest list," Nic announced, placing it in front him. "We're getting married at the Whirlaway Gardens, which is here in Shipyard and I'll show it to you later. We can have up to 30 people and I added everyone I thought was important. If you want to add, or subtract, anyone, just let me know."

He scanned down the list. "Umm, Shay? Really?"

"He and I became close when Tommy and Portia were briefly married and I like seeing him as much as I can," she explained.

"All right," he shrugged, continuing to read. "Looks good, so long as my parents are seated as far apart as possible."

"Definitely," Jude agreed. "I'll make sure of that."

"Can you believe we're getting married in just over a week?" Nic asked Spiederman. "Isn't that nuts?"

"Probably," he joked, "but I wouldn't want it any other way."

Nic yawned and sat with him at the table. "Do you think your parents will like me?"

"Absolutely," he confirmed. "And if they don't, well, whatever. I mean, like Jude said, my mom's approval is really important to me, but it's not everything. I mean, I really want her to like you, which I'm sure she will, but if she doesn't, I still have every intention of marrying you on Saturday."

She smiled and kissed him softly. "Good, cause if you didn't, I'd sue you for falsification. And here in Hilton Head, where my family is practically royal, I could do it."

"Wow," he scoffed. "Glad I'm marrying into it then."

Later that afternoon, Tommy sat down on the beach, reading the latest issue of _Blender_ magazine and watching families walk by. He sighed. At 27, that was what he was ready for. He wanted a wife and kids and even the dog to go with it. But, he knew he'd have to wait because Jude was only 20 and he didn't want to scare her away.

"What are you doing?" Nic asked, sneaking up behind him. "Counting how many times Jude's name is in there? And don't pretend you don't do that because I know you do; I'm not stupid."

He rolled his eyes as she sat down next to him. "No, just reading. Why aren't you planning your big wedding?"

"There's not much else to plan," she admitted. "I called and got a hold of everyone that we want to come, including Tallie, and we got Whirlaway Gardens, and Richie Rich of Heatherette is sending sketches of a dress tonight, so I'm done. We'll have a big catered dinner, which turns into the reception, back here Saturday night, so we're calling caterers in the morning. Beyond that, there's nothing more."

"Uhh, what about buying him a wedding band?" he questioned. "Do you already have one?"

"Shoot!" she cried. "Well, I'll go tomorrow. I still have an entire week, you know."

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Tommy, what's wrong?" she asked him. "For being back with the girl you love more than anything, you don't seem very happy."

"I am," he replied, "but I just can't help but be a little jealous of you and Vin. I mean, Sadie and Kwest are fine cause they've been dating for over two years and she's 23 and he's 27, but you're only 22 and he's 20 and you're getting married. I'm three years from 30, I've been divorced twice, and I'm not even close."

"Sure you are," she spoke quietly. "Jude wants to marry you, trust me, she does. It's just, well, a lot has happened between you two in the past and she has to be sure that you're really going to commit and not run away again, you know? I mean, three years is a long time for you to be gone and you've just got to re-build her trust. After that, she'd marry you in a heartbeat."

"I hope you're right," he mumbled. "I can't wait around forever."

She eyed him. "Really?"

"No," he chuckled. "I'd wait until I'm 80 for that girl."

"Well, gramps, that's not too far off," she teased. "But seriously, I wouldn't pressure her, but I wouldn't give her all the power in the relationship either, Tommy. Once she knows she holds the reins, she'll start taking you for granted."

He threw a rock out into the water. "Yeah, maybe, but I can't pressure her; I don't have authority to do that. I'm just glad she's giving me another chance right now."

"Good point," Nic agreed. "So, big brother, I assume you'll be giving me away next weekend?"

"Of course," he promised. "But Nic, we can get Noelle and James here if you want. Regardless of what they do or say, they are still our parents."

She shook her head. "I don't want them here. Weddings are intended for people who I love and I can't say I love them. I mean, they're okay, but just the people who biologically birthed me. Tallie's coming, so that's good enough."

"True," he nodded, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm happy for you, Nic."

"Thanks," she smiled, leaning into him. "As far as older brothers go, you're definitely top 10."

"Ooh, thanks," he replied dryly.

"Nic, your sketches just came in!" Spiederman yelled out from the office window of the Quincy house. "They look good!"

"Don't look!" she exclaimed, jumping up and hurrying to the house. "Jude said he graduated with honors; sometimes I think he shouldn't have graduated with kindergarteners."


	25. Chapter 22

**Tear, tear. This is the last official chapter and all that's left is the ever-popular epilogue. It'll take place some months later back in the TO. And I recently received a comment about how this story is a lot of Spied and Nic and not a whole lot of Tommy and Jude, but to clear things up, I never promised a strict Jommy to anyone. Yes, I adore them as a couple and could never write Jude with anyone else, but since Spiederman is my favorite character, I gravitate towards him and since I created Nic and put so much into her, I like to write about them, that's all. Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed throughout this story because truly, reviews are my anti-drug. Okay, that's a little melodramatic but you guys definitely rock. Hopefully you'll review this chapter and the epilogue. And, I'm taking ideas for a new story cause once this is done, I'm open to anything. Let me know.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

"This is it," Nic breathed when she woke up on the morning of her wedding. "I'm getting married."

"Yeah, I've heard you say that before," Tommy teased from his place on her window seat. "Will this one last?'

She sat up and frowned. "You don't get to be a jerk to me on my wedding day, Tommy. But, to answer your question, absolutely."

"I figured," he nodded, sipping his coffee. "So, the ceremony starts at 5:00, meaning we have nine hours to get ready. Oh, Darius, Portia, and Georgia arrived this morning and are staying at the Sea Pines Hotel with everyone else. The only person not here at this point is Shay-Shay, but he likes making a grand entrance."

"Touché," she laughed. "Have you seen Spied yet today?"

"Nah," he replied. "He'll wake up around 2:00, take a shower, eat something, and meet us there."

"You don't think he'll get like, cold feet or anything, do you?" she asked nervously. "I mean, he will marry me, right?"

"Nic," he said softly. "You know he will. Marriage is a big deal to him, so having proposed after a couple of weeks, and then planning the wedding in another week, he's definitely serious about this."

"Just checking," she murmured. "So, how are things with Jude? I mean, we all see that things are progressing, but behind closed doors, does it stay that way?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, actually. Things are definitely back to the way they once were but I'm not taking any chances. That doesn't mean she holds all the cards, but I'm never gonna do anything to take advantage of her again."

Nic had stopped paying attention. Instead, she was staring at her wedding gown that was hanging over her closet. It had arrived Thursday night and it was exactly what she wanted. Richie had gone with the sweetheart neckline in a cream color, but on his own, he'd added cap sleeves in an elegant lace that she loved. It was still very form-fitting and it flowed out just at her ankles. She hadn't tried it on yet, because of superstition, but she couldn't wait to wear it.

"It's gorgeous," Jude mused, leaning against the door frame. "You'll look like a cover model in that dress, Nic."

"Duh," Nic smirked smugly. "Have _you_ seen Spied today? Tommy was no help."

"He's up and eating breakfast at the other house," Jude reported. "Wally and Kyle are with him, so he can't do anything stupid that would hurt him, so he's under lock and key."

Nic eyed Jude. "You trust those two, his catalysts, to watch him?"

"Oddly enough, I would trust Kyle and Wally with my life," Jude admitted. "They come off as stupid and immature, but they're the three best friends I could ever ask for."

"Speaking of, could someone tell Christian I really don't want her to come today?" Nic asked lightly. "That little whore is working with _OK!_ magazine to sell pictures from the wedding to benefit herself. The only magazine with rights to do that is _People_ cause they're my favorite and I'm always on their Best Dressed lists."

Tommy stood up. "I'll go get rid of her cause I'm having a business lunch with Darius and Georgia about getting my job back." He kissed Nic's cheek, kissed Jude, and left the room.

"Well, if he's already coming back to Toronto, things must be getting pretty serious," Nic mused.

Jude shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. But it's not like being a couple was something so unnatural for us. I mean, we built it up for two years before he left to help you and I went on a total of four dates in the last three years. I guess I was always holding out for your brother."

"Yeah, it's a Quincy thing," Nic laughed. "We're well worth waiting for."

"Oh, God," Jude murmured. "I see the ego is hereditary, too."

"You're jealous," Nic said in a sing-song voice. "Don't worry, once you marry him, it'll transfer to you. I just met a guy whose ego is already big enough."

Jude was quiet. "Do you think he and I will get married?"

"Let me answer your question with another question," Nic replied. "Do you _want_ to get married to him?"

"Someday," Jude whispered. "I've thought about it, a lot more over the last few weeks, but I'm 20. Isn't that too young to be married?"

Nic turned to face Jude with an amused look on her face. "Jude, I was married at 19, and so was Tommy. Now, I know, I know, both of those marriages floundered, but we weren't in love with the people we were married to. You and Tommy? Now, that's love. If you get married young, that's just more time to be together."

"That's a good way of looking at it," Jude agreed. "But not now. For right now, let's focus on your day."

"Sounds good to me," Nic laughed, going into the bathroom.

Spiederman stared at his reflection in the floor-length mirror in Jude's bedroom, a little shocked by what he saw. In his last wedding, he'd worn a hat and a tuxedo t-shirt. In this one, his hair was just washed and normal, but the only tuxedo he wore this time was by Hugo Boss.

"Ready?" Kyle asked as he and Wally walked into the room, both wearing khaki pants and different colored Oxford shirts. "Kwest just said we're leaving for the ceremony in ten minutes."

"Yes," Spiederman said assuredly. "I'm ready."

"This is it, man," Wally breathed. "Last like, hour as a single man."

"I was married before," Spiederman pointed out.

Wally scoffed. "Karma didn't count and you know it."

"True," Spiederman nodded. "I'm glad you guys are here for this."

"Dude," Kyle said. "We're your best friends. Where else would we be?"

Spiederman just smiled at them. "And I'm glad you understand why I have to let Tommy stand up there with me; I mean, she's letting Jude, and he's her brother."

"It's cool," Wally assured him. "We know you'd rather have us and that's all that matters."

Kwest stuck his head in the room. "Guys, let's go."

Kyle led them from the room and outside to the Jeep. "Are you worried this will mess up your hair?"

"Funny," Spiederman said, pushing him into the car. "Wait. Mom?"

Lindsey Spiederman grinned at her son as she walked down the driveway. "Hi, sweetie."

"I thought you were just going to meet us at the ceremony?" he asked.

"If it's okay, I'd like to drive you," she offered. "I wasn't at your first err, wedding and I want to give you some advice before this one."

Wally leaned in to whisper to Kyle. "I'm not sure her marriage advice will be so good if you know what I mean."

Lindsey looked at him. "I heard that, Wallace."

"Sorry, Lindsey," he mumbled shamefully. "Kyle and I will take the Jeep and you guys can ride together in your uhh, cab." He followed Kyle into the car and drove away.

"Mom, thanks for coming," Spiederman said to her once they were in the taxi she'd come in on. "It really means a lot to me that you can be in the same place as Dad without fighting for a night."

"Yes, well, we discussed it through e-mail and decided to remain civil because this is your day and we don't want to ruin it," she explained. "Now, this Nic, is she nice to you?"

"Usually," he laughed lightly. "But it's always in good fun; I can take what she dishes out and I send it right back. It's healthy."

Lindsey took his hand. "Sweetie, marriage is not easy. I know you were married once before, but I've stricken that from the record because that was poorly thought out from the get-go. You're only 20, so two marriage at this point in your life is a lot and if this one doesn't work out, well, that doesn't bode well for you."

"Mom," he interrupted, "this one is gonna work, I promise. She's been married before, too, and neither of us want two divorces before 25."

"I know," she said. "And I can't wait to meet her."

Nic sat in the backseat of the Range Rover with Jude, while Tommy drove to the Whirlaway Gardens, picking at her nails. Instead of having them done, which was always a bad idea, she'd just painted them her signature nail color- black- but was already biting it off.

"Nic, stop," Tommy warned her. "It's going to be fine. Everyone you want is here and everyone you don't want, including the rogue press, isn't. Christian was sent away, Noelle and James don't even know about it unless they read it in the tabloids, and Chris hasn't said a word; you're golden."

"Good," she breathed. "Are you sure I look okay? I'm meeting his parents today, as well."

Jude looked at her. Nic looked amazing in the dress, as predicted, and to compliment it, she'd softly curled her hair and pulled it back halfway with a slight bouffant. She'd decided against a veil, and only wore pearl earrings and a strand of her grandmother's vintage pearls around her neck. "You look unbelievably gorgeous," she finally told her. "He won't know what him."

Nic was still worrying herself to death when Tommy parked the car.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

"As I'll ever be," she nodded.

Jude got out first, in her silver bridesmaid dress, and stood at the top of the aisle, smiling at those she knew. She was pleased to see that Jack and Lindsey Spiederman were on opposite sides and not making a scene, yet. As the string quartet Nic had hired started to play, she slowly began making her way down the aisle, excited to see her best friend finally marry the girl of his dreams.

"You look beautiful," Spiederman whispered when she'd reached the altar.

"Thanks," she whispered back as everyone turned their attention to the siblings at the back.

Nic took a deep breath, linked her arm through her brothers, and started walking. She immediately noticed Spiederman's dad, because he looked just like him. And she assumed the man seated next to his was his uncle Dave because he looked just like the two of them, as well. On the other side, there was only one woman she didn't recognize who was crying, so she smiled at her, guessing it was her soon-to-be mother-in-law. Finally, her gaze locked on Spiederman and she couldn't help but get teary-eyed. He looked so good in his Huge Boss tuxedo and yet, with his slightly untidy hair, she knew he was comfortable.

"Who here gives this girl away?" the minister asked.

Just as Tommy went to say he did, two other voices in the back spoke up, "We do."

Nic looked over her shoulder to see her parents walking up, dressed to impress. "Oh, man," she groaned. "Who told them?"

"Don't look at me," Tommy replied. "I didn't say a word."

Nic slowly turned to Kwest, who was the only other person there who knew the St. Bart's phone number. _"I'll kill you_,_" _she mouthed.

"Hello, dear," Noelle said coolly. "You look stunning."

"Thanks," Nic said tersely. "Can I get married now and we'll talk after this?"

James took his wife's hand and led her to seats next to Lindsey.

"Because this isn't a traditional ceremony, Nic and Spiederman have written their own vows," the minister announced. "Nic, would you like to go first?"

"Yes," she agreed softly, looking at the man she was marrying. "I met you at a very inappropriate time. You were separated from your wife, I was already divorced once, and we were young. In the beginning, I only spoke to you for selfish reasons because Montreal had always been my territory but Tommy had come in and invaded and I wanted him out so we teamed up to get him and Jude back together so he could return to Toronto. That's how we came up with this Hilton Head trip and my life hasn't been the same since. I graduated from McGill University, which is the _true_ Harvard of the north, and you graduated from high school. I can speak three languages fluently and you stumble with English sometimes. But, even with all of our differences, I love you for your quirks. I love that you're more comfortable with watching cartoons than the news and that you'd rather read comic books than Charles Dickens. I love that you forget to put the toilet seat down but always apologize for it and I love that you don't hold that Tommy is my brother against me." Everyone laughed at this. "Most of all, I love that you accept me for who I am and that you love me for the things that make me _me_ and not because I'm wealthy or well-known. And for all of that, I thank you." She took the platinum band she'd gotten him from Jude and slid it on his finger.

Spiederman cleared his throat and pulled an index card from his pocket, causing everyone to chuckle. "Like she said, she went to McGill and I got through high school, so I forget things easier. Anyways, after my first failed attempt at a marriage, which was bad from the beginning, I never thought I'd try it again. Or, if I did, not until I was at least like, 35. But, then I met you. You're stubborn and outspoken and you drive a Lexus, but I love you. I'm immature and slightly psychotic and I drive a '57 Firebird, but you love me. And for me, that's enough. Most people will say that 'love isn't enough,' but since I didn't have that the first time around, I wouldn't know. For you and me, it's enough, and I'm sure of it. If you jump, I jump. If you listen to Britney Spears, I, begrudgingly, listen to Britney Spears. For the rest of our lives, whatever you do, I do. I love you, Nic Quincy, and that's not gonna change, no matter how many times Tommy threatens me for it." He pulled the wedding band he'd gotten to match her engagement ring from his pocket and slipped it on.

"By the powers vested in me by the state of South Carolina, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Spiederman," the minister proclaimed. "You may kiss your bride."

Spiederman whooped loudly before pulling her towards for their big public display.

"Now, if everyone will oblige, the happy couple would like you to join them at their two beach houses for a night of food, dancing, and debauchery," the minister added.

"We'll happily be providing the last part!" Kyle yelled as he and Wally hurried to the Jeep. "Last ones there are locked out."

"Then I'll be sure to be last," Shay sneered, stepping up to Nic and Spiederman. "Congratulations, Nic. Try and make this one last, will ya?"

"Funny guy," she smirked, kissing his cheek. "Thanks for coming, Shay-Shay."

He rolled his eyes. "Still with the nickname? Move on." He shook Spiederman's hand. "You've got a lot to handle, but from what I've heard, so does she. Good luck." And with that, he said good-bye to Darius and was whisked away to a limo that was taking him straight to the airport for a flight to Las Vegas.

"Mom, Dad," Spiederman said to his parents once everyone had convened on the Quincy compound, "this is Nic. Nic, these are my parents, Lindsey and Jack."

"It's so nice to meet you finally," Nic smiled, shaking their hands. "He talks about the two of you all the time."

Lindsey hugged her. "Welcome to the family, dear. It's so nice to have a daughter-in-law who actually seems happy to meet us. Karma never really put forth an effort."

"Karma was a tramp," Spiederman interrupted. "Forget her."

Jack laughed. "Nic, treat him right, okay? I'd be lying if I said we did when he was a boy."

"I will," Nic promised. She spotted her parents. "It's now or never if you want to meet the Quincy's."

He sighed, squeezed her hand, and allowed her to lead him to them.

"Noelle, James," she spoke up, "this is Spiederman. Spied, these are my parents."

"Hello," James greeted him sternly, offering a limp hand. "Are you good to our daughter?"

"Yes, sir," Spiederman confirmed, not letting the man's condescending tone get to him. "And vice-versa, don't worry."

"We don't," Noelle said. "We raised her right."

Nic couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Ha! Don't pretend you were there so much when I was little. If you'd have raised me, I'd be scared to see what I would've become. Luckily, we had Honey, Pops, and Tallie around all the time do make sure we turned out to be good people because your idea of 'good' and my and Tommy's idea of 'good' are two very different ideas."

"Nicole, we did not come here for you to speak to us this way," James snapped.

"I didn't want you here in the first place!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "Why do you think I told Noelle we were doing this last weekend? To throw you off! No offense, but you're horrible parents! The fact that people like you can even procreate is an indictment against the entire idea!"

Spiederman's eyes widened at this. He knew Nic didn't like her parents, at all, but this was astounding to be witnessing.

"Nic," Tommy said, making his way through the small crowd towards her. "Just walk away." He grabbed her arm and pulled her outside.

"Maybe, uhh, maybe you should go?" Spiederman suggested to the Quincy's. "I think Kwest had good intentions by bringing you here, but it was clearly a bad idea."

Noelle glared at him, turned on her heels and stormed away, allowing James to follow.

"Are you okay?" Tommy wondered once he'd calmed his sister down. "That was pretty heated in there."

"Yeah, well, I hate them," she said simply. "I know people say, 'oh, you can't hate your parents,' but that's bullshit because I absolutely, 100 hate Noelle and James."

"Yeah, I got that," he breathed, sitting down next to her on the patio furniture. "Nic, forget about them. You're right, they're horrible parents, but don't let them ruin your wedding night. There's a guy in there who loves you enough for himself, our parents, and everyone else here, and I'm sure he's waiting to make sure you're all right."

She nodded and stood up. "You're right. Okay, thanks, Tommy." She kissed his cheek and walked back into the house to find her husband.

"Hey," Spiederman said softly when she found him in the living room, vaguely listening to a conversation about going back to work between Georgia, EJ, Wally, and Kyle. "You cool?"

"Always," she smiled. "Sorry about all of that back there. It was wrong to do it at our reception but I was so angry at them. I guess it's 22 years of resentment all built up."

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's fine, trust me. I always thought I got the raw end of the deal because my parents got divorced when I was young, but I never doubted that they loved me. Who knew the rich girl with the married parents would have a much screwier home life than I did?"

"Me," she answered jokingly. "I lived that life."

"Umm, if I could get everyone's attention?" Tommy called out, talking into a microphone that had been set up near the small DJ booth. "I'd like to make a toast to my sister and her new husband, who I know will be much better than the first. You're not exactly what I would call 'my favorite couple,' but Vin, you make my sister happy, so I like you enough for that. But now that you're family, I have every right to tear into you at any point in time, whether here or back in Toronto." He raised his champagne glass. "To Nic and Spiederman."

"To Nic and Spiederman," everyone else murmured, sipping from their own flutes.

"Hey, what's your wedding song?" Jude wondered. "You guys never said."

Nic looked at Spiederman and smiled. "He actually suggested it, which really surprised me, cause it's pretty lame and cheesy, but I went along with it because it's nice that he remembered that it's from my true favorite movie now."

The lights dimmed and everyone cleared the floor, which was actually the living room of the SME house, as the DJ put on the song 'It Takes Two,' from the movie _Hairspray_, which Nic had made everyone watch at least once since they'd gotten to Hilton Head.

"Oh."

"My."

"God."

Jude, Wally, and Kyle couldn't help but laugh as the newlyweds began to slow dance to the musical's song.

"It's so stupid and yet, so them," Kyle decided. "She likes a movie and as her little yes-man, he picks a song from it to be their wedding song."

Wally scoffed. "Her yes-man. I'm sure that kills Georgia, cause he never listens to her and she's his boss."

"Then Nic should just work for G-Major," Kyle shrugged. "As Georgia's like, wingwoman."

"She already has one," Jude pointed out, "in the form of EJ Li."

Wally made a face. "EJ's our stylist/publicist/Portia's boss. She can't make us do anything music-wise."

"Would you want to stand up to EJ?" Jude mused. When Wally didn't answer, she smirked. "I didn't think so."

"This has been the best day of my life," Spiederman told Nic as they continued their dance long after the song had ended and switched to something else. "Better than when our solo album went platinum and we were on the cover of _Rolling Stone _combined."

"Wow," she breathed. "That makes me feel incredibly important then."

He kissed her softly. "You _are_ incredibly important."

"I want that," Tommy said to Sadie as they stood to the side of the room. "What they found in a few weeks, people spend a lifetime looking for; I seem to be one of them."

"You found it," Sadie pointed out, nodding at her sister who was still with Wally and Kyle. "You just need to wait for it to happen now."

"I don't want to wait forever," he admitted. "I love Jude, I really and truly do, but I can't hold out while she decides if she wants to let me back in again. I've grown up a lot, Sadie, and I'm not ever going to hurt her again, but she's having a hard time seeing that."

Sadie sighed. "You're right. She's my little sister, so I'm always on her side, but even I've seen that you've grown out of your 'running away' thing and are completely ready to commit. I guess she's just scared. You've got to do something to prove it, once and for all, that you're here to stay."

"I'm not an expert on the big, romantic gestures," he said. "I mean, our parents practically had an arranged marriage, so my dad never told me stories about courting my mom. Everything I know about love and relationships, I've read in books, seen through other people, or saw in movies."

"To be honest, that surprises me," Sadie laughed. "You were such a charmer."

He smirked. "I'll be sure to tell Chaz his techniques work the next time I see him."

Jude watched across the room as her sister talked to Tommy and she knew that they were talking about her. She even knew they were probably talking about the fact that he was ready for marriage and Jude wasn't; he'd been hinting at it all week and Jude wasn't completely dense.

"Just do it," Kyle whispered into her ear. "Marry him; all the cool kids are doing it."

"You would consider Spied and Nic as the 'cool kids?'" she joked. "Why, cause they're always in magazines and on TV?"

He chuckled. "All I'm saying is that he's changed. Tommy, I mean. He's not the unpredictable, mysterious guy we used to know. He's completely in love with you and if you continue to keep him at arm's length, whether you're in a relationship or not, it's eventually going to push him away, I'm afraid."

"Who died and made you so deep?" she teased, nudging him playfully.

"The drummer is always deep," he pointed out. "You just have to dig."

The night ended with a bang, as Darius, who was completely drunk, ended up making out with Georgia on the back deck, giving everyone who worked at G-Major perfect blackmail that would probably come in handy someday. By 1:30, everyone had left and only those who had come on the original trip remained, staring out at the water.

"Who'd have thought, on our first day here, that Spied would fall in love and get married, Kwest would propose, Jude and Tommy would work everything out, and we'd all end up alive to tell the tale?" Kyle asked to no one in particular. "Crazy, huh?"

"Definite good times," Jude agreed, leaning into Tommy who had wrapped his arms around her. "We should come back next summer."

"Yeah!" Sadie cried. "Unless we can't get away from work."

"Trust me, we'll get away," Tommy assured them. "Especially with my promotion."

"Promotion?" Jude repeated, pulling back to look up at him. "What promotion?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, Darius is sending Georgia to the New York studio and Toronto's going to need a president, and you're looking at him."

"Man, that's awesome," Kwest said, offering a hand to shake.

"Will you still produce me?" Jude asked quietly.

He looked down at her. "You and only you. Well, and the Spiederman boys, but only when they're doing your backing tracks. When they fly solo, they're with Kwest." He glanced over at Sadie. "And I'm going to need a V.P. and after five years, I think you've earned it, Sadie."

"Shut up!" she squealed. "Seriously, you want me as your vice president? I accept!"

"Congratulations, both of you," Nic smiled, tightening her grip around her husband. "So, I think we should probably get to bed because we leave for Fiji in the morning and we're just gonna take my car to the garage and then take a cab to the airport. Our flight is at 7:15 and we're leaving here at 5:30, so we won't wake you." She made her way around to hug and kiss everyone's cheek, hugging her brother extra. "We'll just meet you all back in Toronto."

"Ahh, back in Toronto," Spiederman sighed. "Home sweet home."

"Your 'home sweet home' is about to get a lot sweeter," Nic chimed in as everyone went between the two houses. "Because Nic Spiederman is moving to town."


	26. Epilogue

**So, this is very sad for me to post because I've been writing this story since about April and it's finally finished. And what's even sadder is that I don't know what to do next. I don't think I want to do a sequel because that would just be writing about weddings and babies and I've already done that. I guess I'll have to come up with something new for Nic and Spied and Jude and Tommy, but I'm still never promising a Jommy. Anyways, I hope everyone is pleased with the ending and reviews it. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed thus far; you are truly the best a girl could ask for. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.**

"I can't believe you're going to do this," Nic murmured to Jude as the two girls sat in an abandoned studio D on a late Friday afternoon in November. She placed a hand on her swollen belly, which was five-months-pregnant and sighed. "You're gonna knock him right out of his socks."

"Personally, I still can't believe you're pregnant," Jude laughed. "I mean, five months ago was Hilton Head and you always swore up and down that you guys were careful and used protection. Apparently, you're a liar."

Nic rolled her eyes. "Okay, so maybe one time we didn't. Who cares? I never thought I'd be one for motherhood but I'm totally digging this whole being pregnant thing. I mean, I get to hang out here with you all every day, Spied won't let me do anything at home, and he waits on me hand and foot. I'm gonna start popping out kids left and right."

"Ha!" Jude scoffed. "Yeah, right. According to my mother, after 14 hours of labor, you'll want to kill him for impregnating you."

Nic smiled. "I think this little guy will be enough for us. Maybe someday, in like ten years, we'll have another one, but we've talked about it and one kid is good. So, forgetting my pregnancy for a minute, have you decided how you're doing this?"

"Yeah," Jude confirmed. "I'm doing that showcase tonight at The Basement and I'm gonna do it when I finish. But, I'm gonna do it backstage in front of the people who mean something to us, not everyone out in the audience. Tommy and I are more private than you and Spied."

"What are you saying?" Nic demanded. "We ask for the ridiculous attention we get? I don't think so. We're just fun for the paparazzi to follow."

"Anyways, is it weird that I won't be wearing an engagement ring?" Jude wondered, strumming her acoustic guitar.

The girls were discussing the details of Jude's proposal to Tommy that night after her set. She'd been planning it for almost a month and he had no idea about any of it. What she didn't know was that Tommy was also planning a proposal, with a ring, so it was just going to come down to who asked first.

"Hey, Tommy wants everyone in the conference room," Spiederman reported, sticking his head into the room. "Said he wants to discuss the show tonight."

Nic sighed as she pulled herself up. She wasn't too big, and it only showed in her belly, but her stamina wasn't as high as she was used to and it killed her.

"Need help?" Jude asked, holding out a hand.

"Thanks," Nic accepted. "My husband apparently cares more about his music."

"That's not true!" Spiederman cried. "You always say I help you too much so I thought you'd want to do it yourself."

"Sweets, I'm kidding," Nic smirked, taking his hand so he could lead her to the conference room. "Let's go listen to the Boss Man and then get ready for tonight."

Jude shrugged. "I don't have to listen to the Boss Man; I'm sleeping with him so I have amnesty."

"Eww," Nic gagged. "I don't care to hear about you and my brother, thanks."

Once seated in the room with the rest of G-Major's high and mighty, Nic pulled out her Sidekick and began texting her longtime true friend, Arianna Lyle, who lived in the Montreal penthouse Nic had vacated months before. She didn't care about annual reports or sales or whatever Tommy was going to be talking about; she just had nothing better to do than hang around the studio all day.

"All right, Jude's got a showcase tonight at The Basement and I expect everyone to be there, doing their jobs," he began. "She's gonna preview some of the songs from her new album and we're looking for fan reaction. Jamie, you're on that. Kwest, you'll be working the boards because Sadie and I will be with the promotional team from New York about marketing the new stuff in the States. Nic, even though you aren't paying attention right now, if you're gonna be backstage tonight, you're gonna have to do some work."

She didn't look up but stopped texting. "Will this 'work' result in monetary gain?"

"No, you're not an employee," he reminded her.

"Then there's your answer," she shot back quickly, resuming her activity. "If I'm not being paid, I'm not doing anything."

"Then have fun watching from the audience," he told her sternly. "You just take up room in the back."

Nic's head shot up. "Is that a fat joke? I _am _pregnant with _your_ nephew."

"I didn't mean it that way," he said quickly. "The Basement has a small holding area and if you're not working, there's no point for you to be back there."

"Tommy," she whined. "Please? Pregnant women don't work. In fact, _I _never work, pregnant or not."

Tommy sighed. "Fine, but just don't get in everyone's way. Dictating is not a job."

"Whatever," she murmured, zoning out once again.

"Nic," Jude whispered from her left. "Will you help me get ready tonight? Sadie has to be there at like, 6:15 to get ready, so she's going there straight from here."

"Yeah," Nic agreed. "You have to be there at 7:00, so I'll come over after this."

"Thanks," Jude said. "Usually, I would just dress myself, but I think that after everything happens tonight, he'll want to go out and celebrate and I can't be wearing jeans and a t-shirt paired with Chucks, you know?"

Nic smiled. "That's true."

"All right, that's it," Tommy announced. "Nic and Jude, thanks so much for listening to the end. I'm so glad I can hold your attention."

"Maybe you should make the meetings more interesting then," Nic suggested, filing out of the room. "Wear a hideous t-shirt or walk on the table."

"I'll keep that in mind," he mumbled, going to his office. "Vin, you come in here, now."

Spiederman glanced at Nic curiously and followed Tommy into what had once been Darius and Georgia's office. "What's up, Squinty?"

"If she doesn't like this ring, I'll kill you," Tommy threatened. "You helped pick it out cause Sadie was busy, so I trusted you."

"Dude, calm down," Spiederman advised. "I've known Dude since kindergarten and even though we weren't this close of friends until we were 16, I know her like the back of my hand, you know? It's perfect, small, and totally her."

Tommy unlocked the small safe in his desk and pulled out a white velvet box that contained the small, round-cut diamond ring. "You really think she'll like it?" he asked softly.

"I promise," Spiederman nodded. "And she'll say yes." Spiederman, like Tommy, had no idea Jude was proposing that night, as well. "It's in the bag, man."

Jude stared in her reflection in the floor-length mirror of her bedroom, impressed by what she saw. Nic had dressed her in a pair of wide-leg black pants, a plain white t-shirt, and white Vans with black stars. Her blonde hair was in it's usual blonde curls, her makeup was light and subtle, and yet, she was still just Jude.

"He's gonna love you," Nic said from her seat on Jude's bed. "I mean, he already does, but you look fab, all thanks to moi."

"Man, you and that ego," Jude scoffed. "And how is it you can look so chic and perfect and be five-months-pregnant?"

Nic glanced down at her own outfit- dark washed jeans, a black button-up shirt, and black Ugg boots- and shrugged. "I'm what many would consider a 'fashionista, so that's why, I guess."

"Whatever," Jude laughed. "Let's go or we'll be late and you'll get in trouble for it."

"Yeah, cause God forbid Tommy blame you for anything you actually do," Nic rolled her eyes. "Come on, you can drive."

The Basement was packed by the time Jude parked her Mustang in the back lot. She nervously tucked her keys into her bag and followed Nic inside, only to find everyone going crazy.

"Jude!" Sadie yelled. "You're late! You have an interview with _Spin_ before you start and that's in 45 minutes." She grabbed Jude's arm and pulled her away.

"I know, I know, it's my fault she'd late," Nic recited to Tommy when she saw him walking at her with a purpose a minute later. "But you have to admit, your girl looks good."

Tommy smirked. "Nic, just go find Portia and stay out of the way."

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled, walking off in search of his first ex-wife. "Has anyone seen my husband?" she called out as she walked.

"Dressing room four!" Kwest yelled out from somewhere unknown.

She pushed back the door and found Spiederman, Wally, and Kyle having a burping contest. When they'd first gotten married, this disgusted her slightly, but now, she was used to it. "Why do you continue with this little competition? Has anyone ever beat Wally? The guy's got a stomach like a disposal."

"Thank you," the bass played beamed. "And to answer your question, no, they still never beat me. Not really even close. Spied thinks burping the alphabet is worth something, but I can do the entire chorus of '24 Hours,' so I still won, always."

"Wow," she mused. "That is pretty impressive."

"Have you guys chosen a name yet?" Kyle wondered.

Spiederman scooted over on the couch to let his wife sit beside him. "We know the middle name will be 'Jack,' after her grandpa and my dad, but we're undecided on a first name. It has to be cool, but not crazy like most celebrities are doing these days."

"I refuse to name my child after a fruit, plant, or airplane," Nic put in. "Normal, but different."

"Well, I personally like Kyle," the drummer slyly suggested. "I mean, how many of those do you know?"

"One too many," Spiederman joked. "We're not naming our child after any of you guys."

"Bummer," Wally groaned. "Can I at least teach him to play bass?"

"Oh, he'll definitely play everything," Spiederman nodded. "Guitar, drums, piano, violin, cell, whatever."

Nic sighed loudly. "Oh, good, you three rolled into one. That's just what every mother wants."

"You're pumped," Kyle teased. "I mean, you're married to one of us, you're best friends with another, and the last one is a great tag-a-long." While Wally wasn't necessarily their tag-a-long, in the last five months since coming home from Hilton Head, Nic and Kyle had become incredibly close.

"Guys, Jude wants to do a warm-up in her room," Sadie said, sticking her head into their room. "Nic, if you'd be so kind, I could use some help in sweet-talking some French executives and I'm a little rusty in that language."

"Sure," Nic agreed. "I'll help when you ask; when Tommy demands, that's a big no-no."

20 minutes later, Jude prepared herself for the show. She'd decided with Tommy earlier that week that she was going to perform ten songs: two from each of her first four albums and then two from her not-yet-released fifth album. It was hard to believe she was just going on 21 and had already put out four multi-platinum albums and was getting ready to commit the rest of her life to the guy who'd had her heart since she started the long ride.

"Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Jude Harrison and the Spiederman Mind Explosion!" the club's owner, Joe, exclaimed as the girl and her faithful band took to the stage.

Nic watched from the wings with Sadie as her future sister-in-law rocked out, all the while looking fabulous. Her husband, though, in typical fashion, wore beat-up jeans, a New York Dolls t-shirt, and red Chuck Taylor high-tops, with Wally and Kyle in their own variations of that same outfit.

"They make a very cool-looking band," Portia decided. "The punk-chic lead singer with her alt-punk band. I mean, they do fine on their own, but it's just not the same when it's not all four of them."

"They'll be together until the end," Nic agreed. "That's the way it should be."

Jude considered it the best show of her life, but a lot of that had to do with the fact that she had so much adrenaline about proposing.

"Thanks, everyone!" she yelled when they finished. "It's been great and good night!"

She was ushered off the stage and into her dressing room, where Nic was waiting patiently.

"Do you think I can do this?" Jude asked nervously, running a hand through her hair. "This is big for me, for _us_. I mean, we don't even live together yet."

Nic eyed Jude. "Jude, I knew Spiederman for _three weeks_ when I married him! You've known my brother for over five years, so trust me, you're ready."

Before Jude could say anything, there was a knock at the door and Kwest walked in. "Boss Man seems unhappy with the performance and he wants a quick meeting in dressing room three cause it's empty."

"Great," Jude muttered as she followed him out. "This should put a damper on things," she whispered to Nic.

Once in the room, Tommy made sure everyone was seated before he started his fake rant about the show's production. "It was slow and unprepared and Jude, you shouldn't have been late!"

"Can I say something?" she interrupted, standing up in front of him. "First of all, I thought the show was my best ever, thank you. And second, I need to ask if you'll marry me?"

"What?" he breathed, his heart rate speeding up.

"I fell in love with you when I was just 15-years-old and I couldn't give that up now if I tried," she explained. "When you left three years ago, I was a total wreck for most of that time, despite some kick-ass albums, and I fell apart. Then, when Spied and Nic got us back together, I was happy again and that was all on you. I was hesitant at first, but these last five, almost six, months have been the best of my life and I don't want that to ever stop, so I want to know if you'll marry me?"

Tommy shot Spiederman a panicked look. "Uhh, I wasn't planning on this."

Jude's face fell. "Oh, I see. Well, it was stupid and just a thought."

"No, no, no!" he cried, taking her hands in one of his, while pulling the velvet box from his pocket with the other. "It's just, I was planning to ask _you_ to marry _me_ tonight."

"Shut up!" Sadie squealed. "Oh, this is too perfect!"

"Can it, Sadie," Jude snapped. "Go on," she said to Tommy.

"You kinda said it all," he laughed, "but everything you said is true. When I left to help Nic out, I spent three years looking for something even remotely similar to what I had with you and I never found it. Megan was just a time-filler. I love you, Jude, and I always have." He opened the box, took out the ring, and slid it onto her appropriate finger. "So, I'm saying yes to you if you say yes to me."

"Yes," she nodded as tears began to fall. "Yes, yes, yes."

He smiled, wiped away the tears with his thumbs, and kissed her softly.

"Aww," everyone said in unison.

"Did everyone know about at least one proposal?" Kwest asked. "Cause I knew about Tommy."

"Me, too," Spiederman and Wally agreed.

"I knew at Jude's," Sadie admitted, getting a nod from Kyle.

Nic giggled mischievously. "I knew about both."

"And you kept it to yourself?" Spiederman realized. "Mrs. Spied, I am impressed."

"Thank you, thank you," she joked. "It's something I've been working on."

"I think you've finally mastered the art of secrecy," Jude complimented her while admiring her ring. "Well done."

"Please," Nic scoffed as everyone left the room. "I kept my shitty first marriage from the press for two years, Jude; I'm the Master of Secrets, just so long as I want to keep them."

"Well, come on, Master," Spiederman laughed, turning out the lights. "Let's get you home and to bed."

Tommy groaned. "Five months later and I'm still not used to the sexual innuendo between the two of them."

"What makes you think it's innuendo?" Jude smiled, following him to her Mustang, as he'd rode over with Sadie. "He literally makes her go to bed on doctor's orders before midnight."

"Hallelujah," Tommy praised. "Since when does Spiederman do anything he's told?"

Jude just grinned as she climbed into the passenger seat, allowing her fiancé to drive. "Since the doctor agreed to give him three notes to get out of work whenever he wants them."

"That boy will never grow up," Tommy muttered, pulling out the lot.

"Yeah, but who would want him to?" Jude put in. "Spiederman's just, well, Spiederman."


End file.
